FOI bill passage ‘just around the corner’ – solon

By: Marc Jayson Cayabyab - 10 years ago

Rep. Jorge Almonte Facebook Photo

MANILA, Philippines – Even though the freedom of information (FOI) bill was not mentioned by President Benigno Aquino III in his fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona), the passage of the landmark transparency bill is “just around the corner,” a committee chairman said on Monday.

Misamis Occidental Rep. Jorge Almonte, who chairs the public information committee, said the “future of the FOI is not bleak.”

“The passage of the monumental legislation is just around the corner,” Almonte said as he opened the committee’s technical working group meeting for the second regular session.

He urged the committee members to submit their amendments to their reference bill, which was the 15th Congress version of the proposed measure that was not passed as the previous Congress adjourned.

This is to “expedite and facilitate a better flow of discussion” during the committee hearing, Almonte said.

At the sidelines of the hearing, Almonte said he is confident of the FOI bill’s passage because the President included it on his priority list of legislation.

When asked for his take that Aquino failed to mention FOI in his latest Sona, Almonte said “it is not necessary” and “it is understandable.”

The President need not mention it because the committee is already tackling the bill, he said.

Almonte also said the bill is soon to be passed because Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. mentioned the proposed measure in his opening speech of the second regular session.

“We cannot set a timeline because we can’t predict the behavior of authors,” Almonte said.

The FOI bill, which ensures transparency and accountability in government transactions and data, continues to languish in the lower chamber even as the Senate has approved its version.

As of press time, the FOI is in the committee level for consolidation of its different versions. The committee is stuck in Section 7 that details exemptions, of as much as 25 sections of the bill.