How to evade ICI livestream? Request for an executive session
A week after the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) released its long-awaited guidelines on livestreamed hearings, several lawmakers were called to appear before the body.
The ICI said that all hearings would be livestreamed. Yet the lawmakers invited so far have managed to sidestep public airing of their appearance by opting for an executive session.
Those who were invited after the livestream guidelines were released — and who requested for an executive session — are the following:
- Quezon City 1st District Representative Arjo Atayde
- Quezon City 5th District Representative Patrick Michael Vargas
- Quezon City 6th District Representative Marivic Co-Pilar
- Caloocan 3rd District Representative Dean Asistio
Under ICI rules, an executive session may be granted upon the request of government agencies, resource persons, and witnesses.
The commission had previously resisted the idea of livestreaming, saying it wanted to avoid “trial by publicity.” ICI Executive Director Brian Hosaka earlier stressed that the commission “is avoiding trial by publicity, and will not allow it to be used for any political leverage or agenda.”
But things shifted after the public began pushing for the hearings to be livestreamed.
During a Senate hearing, the ICI said it would start livestreaming its proceedings in the last week of October, which did not happen. The ICI later said that it is finalizing its guidelines for the public hearing.
The commission later finalized its guidelines, which were released on Friday, November 21.
Hosaka said in an interview on Friday, November 28, that the ICI crafted the rules with existing laws and jurisprudence in mind to balance the public’s right to information with the rights of resource persons.
So what’s the legal basis of the ICI’s executive session?
The guidelines cite the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA 6713), which allows information to be withheld if disclosure could threaten national security, endanger life, violate personal privacy, compromise investigations, or reveal draft decisions and internal deliberations.
The guidelines also referenced the Supreme Court ruling in Akbayan vs. Aquino, which recognizes the “informer’s privilege” — the government’s right to withhold the identities of individuals who report legal violations.
Executive sessions are not unique to the ICI. They are also used in House and Senate committee investigations.
The ICI’s approach, however, contrasts with the Senate blue ribbon committee and the House tri-committee, which generally livestream hearings and grant executive sessions sparingly upon the request of the resource person during the hearing.
Hosaka said that the commission is ready to livestream the hearings and it is “just waiting for a resource person who will be appearing before the ICI and who would agree on showing their testimony to the public through our livestreaming.”
But given the trend of resource persons requesting executive sessions, will the public ever see an ICI hearing livestreamed? – Rappler.com
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