Administration solons confident the FOI bill will become a law minus right of reply

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MANILA — Administration lawmakers hailed on Thursday the move of President Benigno S. Aquino III making the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill as one of the priority legislative measures of his administration.

However, Representatives Ben Evardone (Eastern Samar), Teddy Baguilat (Ifugao) and Gus Tambunting (Paranaque City) said that they will block any attempt to include a right of reply bill should anyone insist to include this in the FOI measure which is still in the committee level at the House of Representatives.

“It will water down the essence of the FOI bill. We are happy that no one attempts to file a measure pushing a right to reply bill to be included in the FOI bill,” Evardone told reporters at the weekly forum Usaping Balita at Serye Restaurant in Quezon City.

He said that the pronouncement of President Aquino before foreign investors that he will include the FOI bill as one of the priorities of the government gives proponents morale booster to continue pushing the measure to curb graft and corruption.

The measure aims to protect and provide a system for the people’s right to information as enshrined in the 1987 Constitution.

Baguilat, one of the main authors of the FOI bill, said in the same forum that once the measure becomes a law, it will be one of the major legacies of the Aquino administration.

“It is very clear in the Constitution that every Filipino has the right to have access to information of public concern,” Baguilat stressed.

He claimed that once the FOI bill becomes a law, misfits and scalawags in the government will think not just twice but thrice or even more before making a false move.

He said he heard that some of their colleagues wanted to include a right of reply bill but since there is no support, they were forced to defer such a move.

For his part, Tambunting said without the FOI law, public officials can withhold certain documents, claiming confidentiality when all they want to do is keep secret their wrongdoings.

“The Freedom of Information Bill is a must if we want transparency and accountability in government. Dahil walang batas na FOI, kulang ang kapangyarihan ng mamamayan na makita ng buo ang nangyayari sa pamahalaan at medaling maitago ng mga kurakot na opisyal ang kanilang mga maling gawain,” Tambunting pointed out.

For now, the bill is being consolidated by the technical working group of the committee on public information chaired by Misamis Occidental Rep. Jorge Almonte and is expected to finish it before Christmas.

“Our target date is middle of 2015 to pass the measure and we are optimistic that it will pass into law as President Aquino and Speaker [Feliciano] Belmonte who vowed to pass it within the remaining term of the present administration,” he emphasized.

He added that they “will continue to consult with all the stakeholders of this bill to make sure we come out with the best possible FOI law for our country.”