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Senate lauded for passing Freedom of Info bill on 2nd reading


Members of the multi-sectoral Right to Know. Right Now! network will march to the Senate on Monday to congratulate and thank the senators for the passage of Senate Bill 3308, or the Freedom of Information Act, on second reading last week. The marchers will assemble at the Film Center grounds at 9:30 a.m. before proceeding to the Senate building. The marchers include journalists, academics, students, and members of public interest groups and non-government organizations who comprise the Right to Information, Right Now! Network. Days ago, the network that includes 100 organizations and coalitions, emphasized that failure by the Senate to act on the bill would just as well result in its certain death in the 14th Congress. However, the Senate on December 7 finally came around and passed the bill on second reading. “With its passage on second reading, SB 3308 remains alive and the country is now a giant step closer to the passage of a progressive and responsive freedom of information act", the Right to Know, Right Now! Network said in a statement. The network cited the chairman of the Senate Committee on public information, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, for decisively shepherding the bill through the committee process, and together with Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, for taking it forward in plenary. The network also renewed its congratulations to Representative Erin Tañada, chairman of the Technical Working Group on the bill in the House of Representatives, who with the help of Rep. Joel Villanueva and other lawmakers, efficiently pushed for the bill’s passage before the first regular session of the 14th Congress closed in 2008. The House’s speedy action allowed the Senate sufficient time to review the bill. The network acknowledged the significant advance of the measure, but said that the fight to win the people’s freedom of information is not yet over. The bill still needs to go through the bicameral conference committee, which will reconcile the House and Senate versions of the bill. The reconciled bill must then be approved by both Houses before lawmakers adjourn for the elections. Congress takes a Christmas break on December 18, and based on the legislative calendar, only nine session days remain between January 18 (when Congress resumes its session) and February 5 (when it adjourns). The Right to Know, Right Now! network urged the Senate to sustain the momentum by immediately approving the bill on third reading. The network said it is important for both Houses of Congress to name their respective representatives and convene the bicameral conference committee to finally pass the measure for signing by President Arroyo. According to the network, the right to information has been held by the courts to be executory, but it is difficult to enforce in practice. The Freedom of Information Act will make the Constitutional right to know and the state policy of full disclosure of transactions involving public interest fully operable. It provides a standard procedure in dealing with requests, and clarifies the exact scope of the right. It provides implementing mechanics for the automatic disclosure of key government transactions. It also puts in place effective sanctions to deter or make accountable the violation of the right. “The Freedom of Information Act, if passed into law, will be a significant and lasting contribution of the 14th Congress to political and governance reform in the country, to benefit our generation, and the generations to come", said the network. - PCIJ

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