Access to gov’t spending info

LUCENA city—House Deputy Speaker Lorenzo “Erin” R. Tañada III has filed a bill mandating the government to give citizens access to information on government fund releases and expenditures through the use of the Internet.

“As access to news and information is readily available at the click of a button, the public has become more aware and sensitive to the realities of anomalies and corruption in the government,” Tañada said in a statement.

Under the Tañada-authored House Bill No. 4623, titled “An Act Mandating Transparency in Fund Releases,” local government units would also be asked to provide in their city and town halls Internet-ready “transparency kiosks” to grant citizens, especially those in the countryside with no Internet, access to information on government fund use and releases.—Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon