Senate passes FOI bill on final reading

MANILA, Philippines –  The  Senate has unanimously approved on third and final reading a measure that  would give very Filipino  access to all government information.
Seventeen  senators on Monday voted to pass Senate Bill 3208 known as “An Act Fortifying The People’s Right Of Ownership Over Information Held By The People’s Government. No one objected.

The 17 senators  were: Senators Edgardo Angara, Joker Arroyo, Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano,  Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Franklin Drilon, Francis “Chiz’ Escudero, Jose “Jinggoy” Esrada,  Gringo Honasan, Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Vicente “Tito’ Sotto III, Manny Villar and  Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile.

The bill provides  that “every Filipino  citizen  has  a  right  to  and  shall,  on request,  be  given  access  to  any  record  under  the  control  of  a  government  agency.”

It covers all  branches,  departments,  and  instrumentalities  of  government,  including  all  local  government  units,  collectively  referred to as government agencies defined under Section 4 of this Act.