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FOI Bill passage remains pending

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Is this the last chance for the FOI bill or will it continue to prevail? Photo courtesy of: philstar.com.

Is this the last chance for the FOI bill or will it continue to prevail? Photo courtesy of: philstar.com.

MANILA, Philippines—Is still there hope for the enactment of the Freedom of Information Bill (FOI)?

House Bill 6766 or known as Freedom of Information Act is an act that enables a Filipino citizen the right to access information on matters of public concern. The bill mandates that government agencies are required to upload on its websites records of annual budget, finance, procurement, and construction contracts.

The right to information was first included in the 1973 Constitution and was expanded in the 1987 constitution, Article III Section 7.

According to the Institute for Freedom of Information website, the law would prevent the government from hiding crucial information from the public. It will be a highly effective tool in exposing corruption and allowing to campaign preventive abuse of power.

It is still at the legislative process and is pending approval on first reading before being examined by the committee on public information.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima urged for the adoption of an FOI law, citing it was the most effective method to stop corruption.

“Notwithstanding the continued difficulties in making effective FOI legislation, I believe most, if not all the people in this room, agree with me that FOI is the most effective modality to prevent corruption,” De Lima said in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Re-elected Ifugao Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat, a member of the ruling liberal party, said he would reintroduce and reinforce the passage of the bill in the incoming 16th congress, last May 26.

The FOI bill seeks to make it easier for people and the media to access public documents, especially those related to bidding of government projects as well as expenditures. This way, there will be greater transparency in government affairs and the way taxpayers’ money is spent,” Baguilat said in an interview with the Philippine Star.

Baguilat added the enactment of this bill should be a part of the administration’s good governance legacy.

The same protégé is expressed by neophyte elect Senator Grace Poe, saying that the bill would be a parallel move to the administration’s transparency and anti-corruption campaign.

“How will we know what the government is actually doing if we don’t have complete access of documentation? So we welcome all versions that are filed,” Poe said in ABS-CBN News.

New Journey

Reelected senators Francis Escudero and Alan Peter Cayetano have filed their own versions of the transparency measures that didn’t make through during the 14th and 15th congress.

Their recent versions were among the first measures to be filed in the 16th congress.

“Transparency in all government transactions empowers the people to correctly demand accountability for the government,” Escudero said in his explanatory note on Senate Bill No. 18 in an article on the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

There is a need to concretize President Aquino’s anticorruption and transparency initiatives and the passage of this bill will strengthen democracy, Cayetano said in his own explanatory note in Senate Bill No. 90.

The Senate in the 15th congress carried a version of the FOI Bill – the People’s Ownership of Government Information Law, but the House declined the information committee of Samar Representative Ben Evardone.

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Robredo backs FOI

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Leni Robredo on Rappler's PHVote. Currently Robredo is the newly proclaimed CamSur Representative and one of the pursuers of the FOI Bill. Photo courtesy of Rappler.com.

Leni Robredo on Rappler’s PHVote. Currently Robredo is the newly proclaimed CamSur Representative and one of the pursuers of the FOI Bill. (Photo courtesy of Rappler.com)

Camarines Sur representative Leni Robredo promised to do what she can for the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill last Monday, June 24.

Robredo, the wife of the late Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary Jesse Robredo, expressed full support for the bill according to an article published by TV5’s Interaksyon.com.

“I believe that the FOI bill should be passed,” said Robredo in the article. “I think we want the same thing, I don’t think Malacanang will put a hindrance to initiatives toward transparency,” she added.

Robredo also said in the article that Malacanang’s version of the FOI bill is already good enough to start with.

Last January, Malacanang has proposed a version of the FOI bill wherein they put limitations on what documents can be disclosed to the public.

The FOI bill was nearing its passage but wasn’t tackled enough in sessions because the congressmen frequently failed to reach quorum. Furthermore, the bill was not certified as “urgent” by Pnoy which could have hastened its passage.

What is FOI

The Freedom of Information Bill, when passed, will enable anyone in the public to gain access to information regarding the government.

The public can obtain “all information pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as government research data used as a basis for policy development, regardless of their physical form or format.”
Documents such as the records of minutes, information related to internal or external defense and other information similar to the aforementioned shall remain undisclosed to the public.
Provided below is the link to the site containing the complete Freedom of Information Bill presented to the House of Representatives: Freedom of Information Bill.

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