ICI chairman and former Supreme Court justice Andres Reyes Jr. told this to the Senate justice committee yesterday, which tackled Senate President Vicente Sotto III’s proposed bill creating the Independent People’s Commission (IPC).

“We will now go on livestream next week, once we have the technical capability,” Reyes told the senators, who lauded the move as a step toward transparency.

Reyes welcomed the passage of a bill that would refine the ICI’s powers, such as allowing it to conduct motu proprio investigation on anomalous infrastructure and to issue subpoenas to compel witness attendance as well as have full and unrestricted access to all government records such as contracts, bidding documents and audit reports.

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The creation of an IPC will result in the abolition of the ICI but will retain the latter’s fact-finding mandate to recommend charges before the Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman.

Reyes broke his silence about the ICI’s investigations and expressed shock at the extent of corruption in public works, marked by a kickback scheme among contractors, district engineers and politicians.

“This thing is outrageous and makes me cry. How can these people get away with P500 billion?” Reyes said.

The proposed bill would not only upgrade the powers of the ICI, but would also allow the commission to seek assistance from any government department, bureau or office, such as the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police, to secure the investigation and protect witnesses.

Sotto, who authored the bill, proposed more powers and mandate for the IPC, such as availability of hearings to the public; power to file cases before the proper court; to recommend witnesses to the Witness Protection Program; request freezing of assets; recommend preventive suspension of government officials under investigation and issue hold departure orders to limit the travel of suspects under investigation.

Sotto also recommended that the IPC’s investigation be “encompassing” and not be limited to infrastructure.

Former Senate president Franklin Drilon, who attended the hearing, urged President Marcos to certify the measure as urgent.

Drilon, however, thumbed down the proposal to give the People’s Commission power to contempt and to issue hold departure orders, saying these should be reserved for judicial bodies like the courts and not given to an administrative one like the IPC.

He also called for a “sunset provision” to be included in the bill that would terminate the commission’s existence after a certain period of time, as he vouched for strengthening the mandate of the ombudsman instead that is constitutionally tasked to look into government malfeasance, including in infrastructure projects.

Former Chief Justice Reynato Puno also supported the sunset provision on the body that was created during these “extraordinary times,” referring to the current climate of protests and public outrage over the corruption scandal.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, the presiding chair of the hearing, stressed the need to expedite committee deliberations of the bill, citing the urgency to create a powerful body to investigate the “biggest corruption scandal in the country’s history.”

Drilon agreed, saying that in his 34 years in public service, “I have never seen corruption of this magnitude.”

“Today, in public gatherings, you hear people chanting anti-corruption in unison: ‘Jail those corrupt ones now!’ This is a reflection of how our people feel today,” Drilon said.

“We see the impunity in our society today. We need to restore the people’s faith in our democratic system,” he added.

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During the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum yesterday, Sotto emphasized the urgency of passing his bill, which would speed up the process of investigating and prosecuting corrupt officials.

He also proposed giving the IPC power to require restitution, or the return of ill-gotten money from anomalous infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, House public accounts committee chair and Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon welcomed the ICI’s move, which he said “will enhance public discourse and strengthen accountability in governance.”

“We look forward to these livestreamed proceedings and reaffirm our commitment to work with the ICI – not only on existing cases already transmitted to them, but also on future cases that Congress may take up at a later time,” he said in a statement.

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The Office of the Ombudsman likewise welcomed Congress’ decision to livestream the bicameral conference committee’s deliberations on the 2026 national budget.

“Transparency in legislative deliberations strengthens public trust and ensures that accountability remains at the heart of governance,” the ombudsman said in a press statement yesterday.

“By opening its doors to public view, the bicameral committee affirms that democracy thrives best when its processes are seen, understood and scrutinized by the very people it serves,” it noted. – Jose Rodel Clapano, Elizabeth Marcelo