Senator Kiko Pangilinan has appealed to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to open its ongoing investigation into the alleged anomalous flood control projects to the public, warning the body not to underestimate the people’s demand for transparency.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, October 8, Pangilinan called on the commission to respect the constitutional right of Filipinos to access information on issues of national concern.
“Please do not test the people’s patience with this misplaced refusal to open your proceedings to public scrutiny,” the senator said.
He added, “You underestimate the brewing anger of the public by ignoring or disregarding this basic constitutional right to information of the people on matters of public concern.”
Pangilinan further questioned how the ICI expects the public to trust its findings if the process is kept behind closed doors.
“How do you expect the people to respect and accept your findings when they did not see for themselves the manner in which you arrived at such findings?” he asked.
This marks Pangilinan’s second appeal to the ICI to make the hearings public. In a previous statement posted on September 29, the senator underscored that transparency is an essential pillar of accountability.
“I urge the ICI to reconsider this decision. Transparency is fundamental to public accountability,” he said at the time.
Earlier, ICI Executive Director Brian Keith Hosaka explained that the commission opted to keep its hearings private to avoid “trial by publicity” and possible political influence in the investigation.