FOI bill not watered down, solon says

MANILA, Philippines—A proponent of the freedom of information (FOI) bill in the House of Representatives on Tuesday defended the version approved by the public information committee from criticism that it had been “watered down.”

Akbayan Rep. Ibarra Gutierrez said he and the other principal authors of the bill believed the version they passed on Monday would strengthen public access to information, rather than weaken it as alleged by critics.

“We’re confident that this is not a toothless version. This is a strong version that can strengthen transparency in governance not only among members of the media but the public in general,” Gutierrez told a forum.

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Gutierrez noted that the proposed FOI law would compel Supreme Court justices to upload their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) on their website without the need for a request.

“We’ve gone a step further by not waiting for a demand. You don’t need to request. If you want to see the SALN of your congressman or a Supreme Court justice, that information will be made available under the law,” he said.

The Supreme Court has been known to refuse requests to disclose the SALN of its justices unless the one who made the request complies with regulations to the tribunal’s satisfaction.

But under the House version of the FOI bill, the President, Vice President, Cabinet, members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, constitutional commissioners and generals of the Armed Forces shall be required to post copies of their SALN on the websites of their respective agencies.

Gutierrez said the Supreme Court justices would have no choice but to comply once the FOI law was enacted.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares earlier said he wanted the FOI bill to expressly state that the SALN of all public officials would be made accessible to the public at any time.

“But the committee wishes to retain existing restrictions and limitations to accesses which, as our current experience shows, will make it difficult for the people and the media to access information,” he said, citing a provision that qualifies access to SALN as being subject to “existing rules and regulations.”

But Gutierrez said this was not accurate.

“The draft bill won’t supersede existing rules regarding requirement for SALN and making them available. It is mandatorily required that certain high-ranking officials shall make their SALN available on their website. You don’t need to make a request,” he said.

The Senate has already passed its own version of the FOI bill, which President Aquino has refused to certify as urgent in spite of a clamor from civil society and media organizations.

Gutierrez said the committee was hoping to have the FOI bill taken up on the plenary floor “by the middle of 2015 at the minimum.”

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