P-Noy backtracks;
FOI not priority

The Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition is asking President Benigno Aquino III to reconsider his administration’s non-inclusion of the Freedom of Information Bill in the list of legislative priorities that it is submitting to Congress.

Media and civil society groups expressed their concern that the President appeared to be retreating from his earlier commitment to push for the passage of the measure, which would guarantee greater citizens’ access to official information such as data, contracts, and documents.

During the presidential campaign, Aquino had repeated assured the media that he would support the measure as part of his push for greater transparency and accountability in government. In fact, the President had even expressed his concern when the 14th Congress failed to pass the measure before its adjournment.

Coalition convenor Atty. Nepomuceno Malaluan said the coalition was caught by surprise by this move of malacanang.

“We did not expect the institutional resistance (to the FOI) to come from the President himself who has run on a platform of (transparency) because it was part of the aspirations when people supported his presidency,” Malaluan said.

Malaluan said the group has heard that some Palace officials have expressed concerns that the measure might be abused by some groups in order to make it more difficult for government officials to do their jobs.

Former congressman Bienvenido Abante, who led the unsuccessful bid for the bill’s ratification in the lower house, said government should not fear abuse by the common folk. Abante said that it was government that has shown its capacity to abuse the lack of transparency in government.

Abante said it was important that the President endorses the bill because most of the legislators who resisted the measure are still in congress. In fact, Abante said, most of these legislators are now members of the administration coalition.

“Kung walang endorsement, hindi ito magiging smooth sailing sa kongreso. Every congressman knows that,” Abante said.