RE The Aquino administration proposals for an FOI Bill

The Presidential Communications Group did not directly consult the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) on the administration’s proposals for a Freedom of Information (FOI) bill.

However, CMFR is a member of the Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition (R2KRN), a network of about 150 organizations and individuals from various social sectors and civil society groups, which have long been campaigning for the passage of an FOI Act. The Coalition has been coordinating with government agencies and officials on the people’s right to information. Perhaps this is what Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda meant when he said that the Palace consulted CMFR, among other media groups.

CMFR has reservations about some of the administration’s proposed features for inclusion in the FOI bill.

The administration is proposing substantial changes to the bill proposed by the R2KRN coalition. The administration proposal includes, without a public interest override, matters of executive privilege in the list of information exempted from the bill. Additionally, the quasi-judicial body tasked to ensure the implementation of the FOI law will be under the Office of the President. As part of the government and with its commissioners appointed by the President, the purported autonomy of the Commission would be suspect at best and fictional at worst. Any public officer’s refusal to provide the requested information could be legitimized by the Commission on the basis of the broad grounds for the denial of information contained in the government proposals.

The national security exemption is similarly problematic because not clearly defined, and could serve as a convenient cover for any refusal to provide information on government matters.

The administration is also proposing only administrative sanctions on public officers who violate the proposed FOI law and only after an initial determination of malice. The absence of more meaningful sanctions such as personal and/or institutional fines against violators could make the proposed law virtually toothless.

CMFR would also like to emphasize that the press, an institution specifically charged with providing information vital to public interest, would be hobbled by the administration proposals, particularly those on executive privilege and national security, which in the past have been used to conceal information on government contracts, of which the secrecy surrounding the canceled NBN-ZTE project was an example.

Finally, CMFR would like to remind everyone, especially journalists, that without the benefit of additional legislation, there already exist (1) a law, Republic Act No. 6713, which among other provisions compels disclosure of information on government matters;  and (2) Executive Order No. 89 which requires national government agencies to formulate procedures for the public and the relevant agencies to follow when there are requests for government data and information.

Because it is enshrined in the Constitution, the Supreme Court has also ruled that the right to information is self-executory and requires no implementing law.

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