FOI bill proponents in House still hopeful of approval

INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Proponents of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill are convinced that the leaders of the House of Representatives are not out to sabotage this despite Malacañang’s reluctance to give the public full access to state information, excluding sensitive national security issues.

Dinagat Island Representative Arlene  Bag-ao said FOI supporters were still giving Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and the House committee on public information chaired by Misamis Occidental Representative Jorge Almonte the benefit of the doubt that they would give the bill a chance to get approved before the end of the 16th Congress.

Belmonte declared earlier that the FOI has not been made part of the majority bloc’s priority agenda this year.  Almonte has only held two public hearings on the FOI since the 16th Congress started in July last year. Their words and actions were seen as toeing the line of President Aquino who has repeatedly refused to endorse the FOI bill.

Parañaque Representative Gustavo Tambunting said Almonte could meet the FOI proponents and give them his inputs on how to make the draft proposals more palatable to Malacañang.

Both Bag-Ao and Tambunting denied rumors that committee members were plotting to oust Almonte as chair and replace him with a more supportive lawmaker.

Tambunting said that the 22 authors of the FOI bills pending in Congress have agreed to consolidate their drafts into one proposal that would convince the President to change his mind. “The President had at one point promised to support this and we believe that this expression of support is still with him as long as we give him a version acceptable to him,” said Tambunting.

Bag-Ao said the technical working group (TWG) meeting scheduled for Thursday to consolidate the FOI bills would be a big step in moving the bill closer to plenary debate. “Hopefully, we come out with a consolidated version in time for the committee hearing on February 14. His (Almonte’s) decision to hold a TWG meeting this week is a good indication that he is aware of the deadline,” said Bag-Ao.

Even if Almonte postponed the TWG meeting, Bag-Ao said proponents have agreed to move on with the consolidation of the FOI bills through informal meetings to “compare notes” and iron out contentious issues between authors on their respective draft proposals.

“If nothing happens this Thursday, we’ll make sure by February 14, we should be able to present to the mother Committee a proposal.”

“We will not give up. What is important is that the authors show the public that we are serious and united in pushing for an FOI bill ,” said Tambunting.

RELATED STORIES

Lawmakers told: If you have nothing to hide, fear not FOI bill

Senate will pass FOI bill by March–Drilon