FOI in limbo? Blame it
on P-Noy, LP – Evardone

AFTER reneging on his promise to put the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill in the “front burner” after the State of the Nation Address (SONA), Rep. Ben Evardone, chair of the Committee on Public Information of the House of Representatives, recently revealed his reasons for his continued inaction on measure.

The FOI bill remains in limbo, according to Evardone, because it is simply not a priority of President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III. And neither is there a Liberal Party stand to push the bill.

Interviewed on the television program Failon Ngayon that aired last August 25 over ABS CBN, Evardone said he is not to blame for the lack of progress in enacting the FOI bill at the House.

“Ako matagal ko nang gustong ilabas yan dito sa committee ko, eh, dahil ako nga ang nabubugbog sa media. Eh dati pa akong taga-media (I have wanted for so long to get it out of my committee because I am the one who gets beaten up in the media. And I was even with the media before),” said Evardone.

However, given the bill’s supposedly sensitive and controversial nature, he says he cannot decide on the FOI bill by himself. “(H)indi naman priority ng ating Pangulo kasi wala doon sa legislative agenda na sinubmit sa atin, wala doon sa SONA.” (It is not a priority of the President because it was not on the legislative agenda submitted to us, it was also not in the SONA.)

Evardone also pointed out that the administration party has no stand on the FOI bill. “Is there a party stand of the Liberal Party? There is none! Kung merong party stand ang Liberal Party, no problem. Ako, I toe the line.” (If there is a party stand of the Liberal Party, no problem, I toe the line.)

The President is chairman, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. is co-vice chairman, and Evardone is a member of the Liberal Party.

In his speech at the opening of the third and last regular session of the 15th Congress on July 23, 2012, Belmonte had actually referred to the FOI bill as a measure “ready for a vote.” Still and all, the bill has remained stuck in Evardone’s committee since.

The evident extended inaction by the House on the FOI bill has prompted more than 100 member organizations of the Right to Know. Right Now! Coalition to write to Speaker Belmonte as early as August 15 to appeal for his intervention.

“At this crucial juncture in the term of the 15th Congress, we appeal for your intervention and concrete action on the FOI bill, pursuant to the powers and duties of the Speaker to ensure full deliberation and swift approval of priority measures,” the Coalition wrote.

The Coalition also raised its concerns to Belmonte about Evardone’s statements in several media stories that his (Evardone’s) decision not to call a hearing was reportedly upon instruction of the House leadership.

“We find this assertion incongruent with the commitment that you have so far expressed on FOI,” the coalition said in its letter-appeal.

To date, Belmonte has not responded to the Coalition’s letter-appeal, and neither has he responded in public to Evardone’s recent statements.

The Coalition, which includes civil society, academe, public employees and media as members, has been calling for the passage of the FOI bill since 2001 to implement the 1987 Constitution’s policy of full transparency, as an effective tool to fight corruption, and to enable the people’s right to know and to access information in government custody.