Solons to press for FOI bill passage after SONA

(Updated 7:20 p.m.) Lawmakers on Tuesday vowed to push for the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill in Congress after President Benigno Aquino III delivers his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) next week. House Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III said the House committee on public information targets to pass House Bill 53 — the lower chamber’s version of the FOI bill which he authored— by August. "Whether the executive branch is ready or not, time is of the essence. It is important that before the second regular session is over, we already approved the FOI," he said in a speech Tuesday. Tañada made this commitment at a forum in Quezon City organized by “Right to Know, Right Now," a group advocating the passage of the FOI bill. He added that he and fellow members of a study group on the FOI bill, including representatives from Malacañang, are still resolving “contentious" issues on the measure. Among the issues that is still being resolved is the inclusion of “national security" as one of the reasons why the government can withhold certain documents, Tañada said. "Based on my conversations with the study group, mukhang okay naman. We feel that if there are contentious issues, these are not insurmountable," he said. Tañada likewise said that he "might withdraw" his authorship of the bill "if it becomes watered down." Senator Teofisto Guingona III meanwhile said that Senate committee deliberations on their own version of the FOI bill, Senate Bill 11, will start right after Aquino’s SONA. "When session resumes, we will start the committee hearing so we can terminate the hearing by the end of August or mid-September," Guingona said. A representative from the World Bank expressed support for the passage of the bill. "I do believe that we are very much in support of more access to information and transparency. The reason why, is that it is good for development," World Bank country director Bert Hofman said. During the last Congress, the House of Representatives failed to ratify the FOI bill due to lack of quorum. The measure has been pending in Congress for a decade. FOI advocates, meanwhile, said that they will closely monitor the President’s SONA to determine if he will finally state a clear stand on the measure. “Babantayan namin: Will President Aquino finally express his clear and unequivocal support for the passage of the FOI in his SONA on July 25," the group said in a statement read by Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) executive director Malou Mangahas. — Andreo Calonzo/RSJ, GMA News