Freedom of Info bill left untouched as House adjourns session

The House of Representatives on Wednesday failed to ratify the measure that mandates the availability of all government records for public scrutiny due to lack of quorum. Of the 268 lawmakers, only 91 were present, which was 44 short to muster a quorum. The session was adjourned at 6:51 p.m., or less than two hours after the roll call, with several key legislation left untouched. “No business can be conducted when there is no quorum," House Speaker Prospero Nograles said in a text message. The chamber was supposed to ratify the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and tackle the bill the seeks to rehabilitate the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), among others. The FOI Act was ratified by the Senate last Monday. Congress will not resume session until May 31, when they will meet again to canvass votes in the May 10 elections. Afraid of FOI Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada, one of the proponents of the FOI bill, said technically, the House can still ratify the bill on May 31, but he is not optimistic, noting that he had a hard time convincing the House leadership to even put the bill in the agenda. “Takot sila (they are afraid)," he said. “Baka yung objective ng bill to have accountability, transparency in all government transactions ay maging totoo at maraming lalabas." (Maybe the objective of the bill to have accountability, transparency in all government transactions will be achieved and information about them will be open to the public.) Supporters of FOI at the gallery were not pleased with the development. During the suspension of session shortly after the roll call, some of them shouted “FOI! FOI! FOI!", prompting House security to escort them outside of the session hall. Hazardous to health The lack of quorum also infuriated Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco, whose blood pressure shot up after he furiously demanded for a recount. He was promptly attended to by doctors and had to sit down for a couple of minutes. Cojuangco is the primary author of House Bill 4631, which seeks to rehabilitate BNPP. Aside from HB 4631, the House also failed to act on other controversial measures such as the Right of Reply bill and the Reproductive Health bill. Symbolic ending “This is a fitting symbolic ending for the 14th Congress na yung mga (that the) important bills hindi nila napasa (were not passed). Especially bills on transparency and accountability which is the number one hounding issue President Arroyo," said Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño said. He said it was “hard to say" if Malacañang had a hand in the failure of the House to ratify the FOI bill, but added that “if Malacañang wants something, it’s so easy for them to do it." “Anything to do with transparency, anything to do with accountability, this administration is allergic," Casiño said. - KBK, GMANews.TV