De Lima bats for Freedom of Information Bill to battle corruption

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Despite Malacañang’s lack of support for the Freedom of Information Bill, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Friday pushed for the adoption of an FOI law, saying it was the most effective method to stop corruption.

“Notwithstanding the continued difficulties in making effective FOI legislation, I believe most, if not all the people in this room, agree with me that FOI is the most effective modality to prevent corruption,” De Lima said in a speech at the 5th Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

“[A] well-informed citizenry can and will meaningfully participate in the governance of a country. Indeed, one of the aspirations of institutionalizing the FOI principle in our country is for our people to enjoy economic and social mobility as anticipated fruits of political maturity,” the Secretary added.

The FOI bill has been pending in the House of Representatives and is considered virtually “dead” due to lack of time, lack of quorum and lack of support from President Aquino.

De Lima said the adoption of an FOI law was timely.

“In my humble opinion, I assess that the Philippine society is now poised to divest itself of the shackles of secrecy and complacency. After many years of legislative lobbying, the opportunity to create an FOI act is within our reach. The path has been laid out before us. We need only now to simply take it.”

De Lima said that despite the gains of President Aquino’s administration in the anticorruption drive, there remains a need for an FOI law.

“The willingness and the good faith of this government to make an authentic commitment to transparency as an important element in democratic, efficient and honest governance will not be enough unless there is a very well-crafted law that not only encourages requests for information by the public but also affords speedy processing of the same,” she said.

For De Lima, FOI will ensure the people’s access to public documents and information that would enable them to hold the government accountable for any irregularity or wrongdoing.

She said the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, when he was mayor of Naga City, implemented policies of openness and freely affording access to information to the public which empowered his constituents and encouraged their active participation in governance.

“Such emancipation of the citizenry transformed a lethargic city into a booming economy,” she said.

De Lima also recalled that former Chief Justice Renato Corona was removed from office by impeachment because of discrepancies in a public document—his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth—which was not readily accessible to the public and which the Senate impeachment court was nearly unable to obtain.