Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday pushed for broader powers and stricter transparency measures for the proposed Independent People’s Commission (IPC) under Senate Bill 1215.
During the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights hearing, Sotto said the measure—originally titled the Infrastructure Anomalies Investigation Act of 2025—should include stronger provisions to make the IPC “fully accountable, transparent, and empowered to act against corruption across all government sectors, not only in infrastructure.”
“Because of the swift filing that I wanted to do for Senate Bill 1215 or Creating the Independent People’s Commission, I did not realize that there are other necessities that should be included in the bill,” Sotto said, as he proposed several amendments.
He urged that IPC hearings be open to the public to ensure transparency and public confidence. Sotto also recommended imposing penalties on private individuals involved in corruption, not just public officials, by reinforcing Section 4 of Executive Order 94, series of 2025, which created the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).
Among his other proposals were granting the IPC the authority to file cases before proper courts, endorse witnesses for protection, request asset freezes, and recommend the preventive suspension or hold departure orders of officials under investigation.
“This Independent People’s Commission that we would like to push for is not limited to infrastructure. It is encompassing. It will include everything that would need investigation of the people and different sectors of the government,” Sotto said.
Senator Francis Pangilinan, who chairs the committee, said the measure aims to institutionalize a permanent, non-partisan anti-corruption body with fiscal autonomy and full statutory authority to probe anomalies in both national and local government projects.
He added that investigations should be completed within 60 days, with findings made public within 30 days to ensure transparency and accountability.