FOI: foiled again
By Kathryn Roja G. Raymundo
AS THE 15th Congress prepared to adjourn on Dec. 22 for the year-end holidays, the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill remains stalled in the legislative process.
Far from becoming law, the bill has yet to pass second and third readings in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. The plenary discussions which will follow will have no more than 15 working days, from Jan. 21 to Feb. 8, 2013, before the campaign season begins.
An FOI Act would enhance the public’s right to information as guaranteed by the 1987 Philippine Constitution and other legal instruments by ensuring that a procedure is in place to enable the public to access government-held records on matters of public interest, and mandates penalties for the violation of this right.
But when the FOI bill is taken up when sessions resume next year, the inclusion of a right of reply (ROR) provision will be at the heart of the plenary debates.
Delayed
In general, the legislative process has been characterized by delay after delay especially when it involved controversial bills such as the Reproductive Health (RH) that have strong and vocal partisans. Like the RH bill, the FOI bill continues to languish in Congress despite politicians’ expressions of support, making people wonder if indeed they are really committed to its passage. Still, sponsors of the bill claim that Congress is doing everything it can to hurry the process along.
But Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition (R2KRN) co-convenor Nepomuceno Malaluan pronounced the FOI bill as good as dead after the Nov. 13 House Committee on Public Information hearing: “Not so much for the lack of time, but for the lack of political will.” (CMFR, publisher of the PJR Reports, is a member of R2KRN—a network of media organizations and public interest groups pushing for the passage of the FOI bill.) Recalling the speed with which the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 was passed, two years from its filing, the difference lies in the abundant will for a law to control the Internet.
When the third regular session opened last July 23, the leaders of Congress indicated their support for the measure. House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. declared that it was time to put the FOI bill to a vote, like the RH bill—which he noted had already been fully discussed by advocates and opponents in and out of Congress, including past congresses. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile argued its importance for Juan dela Cruz, as a citizen and taxpayer, who is “entitled to know how much of public funds are paid for what.” The Senate debate, he continued, should be on the scope of this right.
The Senate has actually given the FOI bill more support than the House. Senators ended their committee hearings and completed a consolidated bill. They started the period of interpellation by middle of December and were willing to proceed immediately to the period of amendments.
In December, reporters covering that beat said that the Senate supports the passage of the bill at the “swiftest possible time,” and were optimistic that FOI would be passed by the chamber before they adjourn—“our best Christmas gift to our people.”
Indeed, there has been much stalling in the House. Committee Chairman Ben Evardone (representative, lone district, Eastern Samar) failed to set a hearing for over a year. The committee met on March 13 and in one instance cancelled a hearing because there were “no available rooms.”
After the Nov. 13 hearing, R2KRN members said the bill suffered “battery, assault, and murder” under Evardone’s “dismal failure of leadership.” (“BAM goes the Freedom of Information bill!”)
The House Committee approved the consolidated bill on Nov. 27 with 17 voting for, 3 voting against, and 1 abstention. Evardone scheduled another hearing on Dec. 11 to approve the committee report instead of formally transmitting the bill to the plenary. FOI advocates retorted: “Where is the FOI committee report? Evardone on dribble mode again.”
Rep. Rodolfo Antonino (Nueva Ecija, 4th District) and some representatives questioned the process adopted by the Technical Working Group (TWG), which considered the inputs of the Malacañang study group and FOI advocates in preparing the consolidated bill. Deputy Speaker Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III (Quezon) was the head of the TWG.
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