Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Thursday dared Malacañang to certify the freedom of information (FOI) bill as urgent so Congress may act on it before it adjourns in February.
The Senate leadership intends to make the most out of Congress’ remaining nine session days to pass crucial measures before it goes on a three-month recess ahead of the May midterm elections, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said on Tuesday.
The right-of-reply provision that threatened to kill the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill at the committee level is anything but dead.
After two years, the freedom of information (FOI) bill has finally managed to get past the committee level in the House of Representatives and without the controversial right-of-reply provision.
Stung by criticism, the chairman of the House committee on public information on Friday pledged to finally put the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill to a vote when the hearing resumes on Nov. 27.
Eastern Samar Representative Ben Evardone on Friday said that the Freedom of Information Bill would be the sole agenda of the House of Representatives’ committee on public information’s meeting on November 27.
The House minority bloc will only support a Freedom of Information Bill that has the right of reply provision. This was according to House minority leader Danilo Suarez who said in an interview with reporters on Wednesday that although their members were divided on the FOI Bill, what they agreed on was the need for a right of reply provision.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Wednesday denied that Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. lobbied against the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill.
Quezon Representative Lorenzo Tañada III, the principal proponent of the Freedom of Information Bill, on Tuesday said that he remained confident President Benigno Aquino III would like the measure passed during his term.
There is enough support to put the freedom of information (FOI) bill to a vote at the committee level even without having to hold a caucus of House leaders to discuss its contentious points, backers of the measure in and out of Congress said Monday.
Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan said early Wednesday on Radyo Inquirer he is confident the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill will be passed into law very soon.
President Benigno Aquino III has issued marching orders to officials of Malacañang to push ahead with its version of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, which seeks to provide the public access to government documents, the undersecretary in charge of coming up with the administration’s take on the transparency measure told reporters on Wednesday.
If President Benigno Aquino III is serious in fighting corruption and upholding transparency in the government, as he declared in speeches during his visit to the United States, he should push for the passage of the freedom of information bill. Thus stated Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, chair of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the [...]
