Sotto wants proposed anti-corruption body to have more teeth

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III is seeking to give more teeth and transparency to his proposed Independent People’s Commission (IPC), a body envisioned to investigate corruption across all government sectors—not just infrastructure.

Speaking during the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights hearing, Sotto said the IPC’s mandate must go beyond the limited scope of the executive-created Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which was established through Executive Order 94, series of 2025.

“Because of the swift filing that I wanted to do for Senate Bill 1215 or the Independent People’s Commission Act, I did not realize there are other necessities that should be included,” Sotto admitted in a recent media forum in Manila.

Among the key amendments Sotto plans to introduce are provisions to make IPC hearings public, strengthen accountability measures, and impose penalties not only on corrupt public officials but also on private individuals involved in graft.

He is also proposing to empower the IPC to file cases before appropriate courts or agencies, endorse witnesses for protection, freeze assets, and recommend the preventive suspension of government officials under investigation.

“This Independent People’s Commission that we want to establish is encompassing—it will investigate corruption wherever it exists in government,” Sotto stressed. He added that the IPC should also have the authority to recommend hold departure orders for personalities under probe to prevent flight from justice.

If approved, Senate Bill 1215—formerly titled the Infrastructure Anomalies Investigation Act of 2025—would mark a major step toward institutionalizing a more transparent, independent, and publicly accountable anti-corruption body. TRACY CABRERA