Senate set to pass FOI bill

MANILA, Philippines—It may please Malacañang to know that the minutes of any closed-door meeting between the President and his Cabinet need not be disclosed to the public under the Senate’s version of the freedom of information (FOI) bill.

This is one of the exceptions in the bill that would grant public access to government records, Sen. Grace Poe, main author of the controversial measure, said on Sunday.

The Senate is set to approve the bill on third and final reading on Monday. The House of Representatives has yet to approve its version.

Available to public

“Yes, that (Cabinet meetings) will remain confidential, and whoever will leak anything to the media will be punished,” Poe said in an interview over dzBB radio.

However, any meeting covered by privileged presidential communication would become public once the output of the meeting becomes an official government document, she said.

President Aquino had said in the past that his main concern lay with the bill’s provision making transcripts of Cabinet meetings available to the public.

With such a provision, a Cabinet member may think twice about speaking his mind because the meeting is being recorded, Aquino had said.

“The only thing I really am conscious about when you have discussions is that nobody is intimidated to say what they have to say,” he said in September last year.

The FOI bill, which is based on a citizen’s right to information on matters of public concern, covers the entire bureaucracy.

Its salient provisions include the mandatory posting of the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of all government officials up to salary grade 27, Poe said.

“All employees are covered, and the requirement for the posting of SALNs goes up to the level of the Chief Justice,” she added.

Posting on gov’t websites

In May 2012, the Senate voted 20-3 to convict then impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona for nondisclosures in his SALN.

The FOI bill would also require the posting on government websites of projects worth P50 million and above in accordance with the antiplunder law, as well as notices of job vacancies.

The goal is to allow the public to access opportunities in government.

The legislation, a consolidation of several measures filed by senators, provides exceptions.

These include: matters of national security; information pertaining to foreign relations, law enforcement operations; matters pertaining to the privacy of an individual; trade and economic secrets; privileged information in judicial proceedings; information made in executive sessions of Congress; and matters covered by presidential privilege, among others.

In the bill, the term “national security” was expanded to cover health pandemics and similar situations.

Unnecessary harm

The measure tightens provisions on sensitive personal information in accordance with the Data Privacy Act of 2012 in a bid to protect the individual from “unnecessary harm” and harassment.

“Just because you’re in government doesn’t mean you’ve lost all your rights. Under the right to privacy, the ITR (income tax return) isn’t part of total uploading. You could only be investigated if there are questions on your lifestyle,” Poe said. Otherwise, an official’s ITR won’t be scrutinized, she added.

The measure also spells out the system of accessing information, including the procedure for appealing a denial.

Poe said an FOI desk would be set up in every government agency to reply to requests for information within 15 days.

If an individual didn’t get the information he sought, he could appeal to the head of the agency. And if he’s still unsatisfied with the action, he could go to court to compel the release of the information, she said.

Anybody can file a complaint with the Ombudsman against any government official who refuses to entertain a request for information, Poe added.