Senator Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang is not “passionate” but is not also out to “kill” the controversial Freedom of Information bill, neophyte Senator Grace Poe, who now heads the Senate committee on public information, said Thursday.
Poe assured that Malacañang has not given any order to the committee not to pass the bill.
“Obviously, it’s not their passion but wala rin naman silang ginagawa para patayin ito (but they are not also doing anything to kill it),” she said during a weekly forum at the Senate.
Despite Malacañang’s stand on the issue, Poe vowed to prioritize the bill that she even filed a resolution urging the appropriate body, which is her own committee, to immediately start full deliberations of the measure.
Asked if she would ask President Benigno Aquino III to certify the bill as urgent, the senator said, “I could eventually do that but I will admit to you now that I will not do that until I actually heard all sides. That includes the side of the President.”
It was up to Malacañang, Poe said, to decide if the bill should be prioritized by Congress.
“What I think is that it is a safety for us especially that in 2016 we will have a new administration. It’s better that we are able to have a guarantee that we have access to information,” she said.
“Another thing is that our archiving system in the country is really bad. If we have a bill like that, it should include provisions on funding for archiving for every gov’t institution or how they are able to discard certain documents,” she added.
Poe openly expressed her position against the right of reply provision in the bill, saying it’s a form of censorship.