IT comes as no surprise that the Discaya couple, Curlee and Sarah, has finally decided to stop cooperating with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) in its probe into anomalous flood control projects.

The Commission, chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes, cannot compel the couple to speak up when they repeatedly invoked their right to protect themselves from self-incrimination. Not that the ICI, which has been quietly working through paper trails and talking to resource persons, is desperate to have them on board.

Having been created through a presidential executive order, the ICI does not have the authority to cite anyone in contempt for ignoring its invitations or summons. It can merely request the presence of witnesses, not require it.

At best, the commission seems to be duplicating the work of the Ombudsman and other agencies. At worst, it risks becoming an exercise in futility — a show of action without substance, created merely to please the Palace and pacify public outrage.

But bills have already been filed in both chambers of Congress that will give stronger legal backing – and teeth – to the commission.

The House of Representatives and the Senate recognize the urgency of passing these bills. The President should formally give it a priority stamp.

Meanwhile, at a Senate joint committee hearing on October 22, the five-week-old ICI announced that it will be setting up the system to start livestreaming its sessions by this week. ICI spokesperson Brian Hosaka earlier said the commission wanted to initially maintain closed-door hearings to avoid trial by publicity.

In conceding to public clamor for open sessions, Reyes told the Senate, “We are only 39 days old, we only have three lawyers. But we will try our best to conduct a full-blown investigation of all this fraud. We don’t have the facilities or the rules of procedure, but we will try to shorten the process despite not having formal rules yet.”

If the government sincerely wants to pursue accountability, it must empower bodies like the ICI with real authority, not just symbolic mandates.

Otherwise, no matter how many commissions are formed, corruption will continue to thrive behind the curtain of so-called investigations.