As Congress resumes regular sessions on Monday, January 26, the Senate will immediately tackle the proposed Independent People’s Commission (IPC), and other important measures that are part of the Upper Chamber’s priority list, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said.

Sotto said the proposed IPC remains top of the Senate’s priority agenda for this year, 2026, despite the issues that hounded the creation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), as proponents of the bill seek a more independent body with broader investigative and enforcement powers to tackle the widespread corruption in government.

“The proposed IPC remains a priority of the Senate,” Sotto said in an interview, defending anew the necessity of passing into law Senate Bill No. 1512 which seeks the creation of the IPC.

“The IPC will not focus on investigations on anomalies on flood control projects. It won’t just focus on the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways). It’s an Independent People’s Commission that covers all anomalies that need the involvement of the people, that is why we included the civil society groups and concerned citizens in the membership of the IPC,” the Senate leader reiterated.

“The investigations will not be confined to the DPWH, it can also probe anomalies in the agriculture sector, national irrigation, DepEd (Department of Education); everything that can be tackled once there are issues of corruption, the IPC can look into it,” the senator stressed.

Sotto reiterated that the IPC is envisioned to be a powerful, independent anti-corruption agency that will investigate anomalies, particularly in government infrastructure projects, and given the powers to issue subpoenas, freeze assets, suspend officials, and recommend policy changes.

The proposed IPC will also seek direct involvement of the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its investigation of anomalous government transactions.

Party-list reform, anti-political dynasty bills

The Senate chief also said reforms on the country’s party-list system (Senate Bill No. 192), and the anti-political dynasty bill are also part of the chamber’s priority upon its resumption.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who chairs the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation, has scheduled the hearing on the various anti-political dynasty bills pending before the committee on Wednesday, January 28.

“Those bills are included in the line up and will be taken up immediately at the start of the regular session,” Sotto assured.

Despite opposition to the anti-political dynasty bill, the Senate leader said he believes there is a big chance of it getting approved this time.

“I think we can’t force it all at once. But we can start in the local positions first,” Sotto said.

“We need to open a window first before opening the doors. Because we can't rule out the fact that there are definitely those who will oppose it. Especially in the Lower House, there are many of them who oppose the bill,” he said.

Other priority bills

Sotto said other bills that are already in the advanced stages of legislation and will be taken up this week include the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, the Classroom Acceleration Act and the Philippine Geriatric Center (PGC) bill.

On January 26, the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, Finance and Ways and Means, will tackle the pending bills on agricultural cooperatives and the proposed National Agriculture and Fisheries Extension System.

On January 27, the Senate Committee on Health and Demography will tackle the issues on counterfeit or unregistered pharmaceutical products sold online and in stores.