The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has the prerogative to go straight to the Office of the Ombudsman once they have sufficient evidence to file a case, the ICI’s Executive Director, Atty. Brian Keith Hosaka said.
"We're independent, so we would go straight to the Ombudsman," Hosaka stated in an exclusive interview at DZRH’s Special on Saturdays, on September 27.
When it comes to the independent body’s investigation, Hosaka said that although President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had already identified several congressional districts involved in the anomalous flood control projects, the independent body is still weighing evidence on the information they have.
"'Yan nga po yung pag-uusapan ng komisyon. Kasi nga po, may mga impormasyon nga po dumarating. Binabalanse po eh. May mga malalaki po [na proyekto]," he explained.
"At the same time, meron naman po mga proyektong hindi gaano malalaki pero kumpleto ng ebidensya. So paano po 'yun, diba? So ang gagawin natin, file na po natin yung kumpleto. At the same time, hindi naman po ninyo bibitawan yung concentration na dito sa mga malalaki na ito. Tuloy po yung imbestigasyon dyan," he added.
With this, Hosaka pointed out that one of the most important mandates the commission has is to look into the current system within the government. Following this, they would come up with recommendations to improve it.
"Hindi na maulit, hopefully, yung mga ganitong pong anomalous na mga projects as far as DPWH is concerned," he said.
What should people expect?
Before anything else, Hosaka said they would prioritize organizing the commission, stating, “Kasi pag hindi po kami organized, wala po kami mga tamang tao at mga eksperto na nandyan po, e babagal po ang aming trabaho at hindi po namin magagawa ang mandato."
Once all has been settled, he said they would proceed with filing recommendations to the Ombudsman and submitting position papers to either the Office of the President or Congress, depending on whether they feel that a new law must be enacted to prevent such incidents from repeating.
"Ang kahirapan lang po dito, sana po maging pesensyoso po. Konting patience pa po from the public. And trust na gagawin po ng ICI yung pinaka kaya niyang magawa para po mabigay sa taumbayan yung gusto nila," he Hosaka said.
"Alam ko po ay medyo naiinip po ang taumbayan but we're here to serve. We're here to make sure that this problem will not happen again. That people who are responsible for what happened for this mess will be brought to justice," he added, stating the ICI wishes for the public’s support.
