The secrets of the House of Nogi

The House of Represnetatives may have delayed the passage of the Freedom of Information Act but for all journalists, the laborious effort to pry open doors to documents that government wants to keep secret continues as usual.

Our latest report, “The Secrets of the House of Nogi,” inquires into the budget and fiscal processes, as well as contracts for supplies and services, that the House of Representatives under Speaker Prospero Nograles had largely kept sub rosa.

For one, the Commission on Audit itself has raised a number of adverse findings in its audit report on the House for the years 2007 and 2008. For another, over the last three years, the House budget has consistently grown by big amounts – from P3.75 billion 2008 to P4.6 billion in 2009 to P5.53 billion in 2010 – but the 14th Congress has produced much less in terms of laws, compared with the 13th Congress that had much less money.

The latest supply contract being bidded by the House is the most surprising in light of the fact that the House had adjourned sine die last Friday. It is a contract worth P8.067-million for the supply of “325 executive tables and 25 chairs for the Session Hall” the 15th Congress will supposedly use.

The bidding for this contract closed last Friday, hence the notice of bid had been pulled from the official website of the House. We managed to secure and save a copy, which we are attaching to this report.

In a sidebar, we look at the curious tactics employed by parties opposed to the passage of the bill, including a text blast discouraging House members from attending Friday’s session.