SONA snub of ‘right to know’ – is PNoy forgetting about FOI?

President Benigno Aquino III says his administration is all for transparency and accountability in government and yet the fate of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill cannot be clearly seen. The foot-dragging on legislation on the people’s right to know has both critics and allies of his administration asking: Does Aquino favor FOI or fear it? On Wednesday, GMA News TV's "State of the Nation" aired an interview by anchor Jessica Soho with President Aquino which was conducted a day after the President delivered his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 25. In the interview, Soho grabbed the opportunity to zero in on the fact that Aquino did not mention the FOI bill in his SONA despite it supposedly being very important to his campaign against graft and corruption. "The reason we could not include [the FOI bill] was that there were three minor points na halos resolved na, pero di pa naming ma-resolve," disclosed the President. "Kailangan natin ma-meet ang constitutional requirements of people of having the right to information so that they can base their decisions properly. Gusto naman natin na hindi magiging threat to the national interest or national security," he added. "Kapag nilagay mo yung freedom of information sa absolute terms nun, lahat ng minutes nung Cabinet meetings pwedeng i-access to everybody. Subject to libel laws na yun," Aquino said. “So ano ang net effect noon? Kapag may discussion sa Cabinet meeting, magpalitan nga kayo ng information, ideas, definition ng problema, solutions, etc. biglang lahat mananahimik ngayon, anong mangyayari sa mga meeting natin?" But the President maintained that, “Pero focus pa rin natin yan, interesado tayo dyan."

Policy forum on FOI bill Also on Wednesday, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) hosted a policy forum on the FOI bill. At the forum, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) executive director Malou Mangahas pointed out that, “Before the world we say, the Philippines is an exemplar in transparency. [Yet] in this country, you cannot even move the FOI bill." For his part, lawyer Felix Carao of the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CENPEG) expressed his disappointment over Aquino’s tight lip over the FOI bill. “I was surprised kay PNoy. Ang key campaign [promise] nya noon, government of transparency, ibig sabihin e lahat ng ginagawa ng gobyerno ay alam ng bayan, pero hindi ganun yung nangyari," Carao said. Transparency and Accountability Network head Vince Lazatin wondered out loud, “What changes when someone is a candidate to becoming a president? How come all of a sudden there seems to be paranoia on the side of Pnoy?" Lawyer Nepumuceno Malaluan, co-convenor of the “Right to Know, Right Now!" movement, expressed apprehension that Aquino does not want to consider it a priority bill because the FOI bill could be used against his administration politically, and it would be inconvenient to implement administratively as regards certain negotiations such as those under the government’s private-public partnership program. "We hope that that is not true because the FOI requires much deeper commitment than both political and administrative inconvenience. This is a matter of right; it is also a matter of being ready to democratize power," Malaluan said. But Presidential Communications Development Usec. Manuel Quezon III assured those present at the forum that there was no reason to doubt the President’s resolve to get the FOI bill enacted, pointing out that the Palace was studying closely the original bill filed in the previous Congress. Quezon said, “Ang solusyon dito masinsinang paguusap upang talagang tanggapin ng lahat ng mga panig na ang responsibilidad natin lahat ay isulong ang transparency sa pamahalaan. Ngunit transparency with responsibility." In fact, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. had earlier said last week that Aquino has reservations that the proposed FOI bill can be abused, and he wants to resolve these first before putting it the in the list of priority bills to be discussed at the the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC). [See: Palace officials defend PNoy's SONA from critics] LEDAC is composed of the President as chairman, the Vice President, the Senate President, the House Speaker, seven Cabinet members, three senators, three House members, and one representative each from the local government, the youth, and the private sector. It helps the President integrate his legislative agenda with the national development plan, as a consultative and advisory body. House ally, critic unite over FOI bill Also at the forum was House Deputy Speaker Lorenzo “Erin" Tañada III, a member of Aquino’s Liberal Party, who had filed his version of the FOI bill (House Bill 54). Tañada said the administration party is sincere with its intention to pass the bill. “I still believe the President is in favor of this bill," he said. “We’re expecting LEDAC to meet maybe in the third or fourth week of August. He might include it as part of his legislative priorities." It was mentioned at the forum that none other than Senator Gregorio “Gringo" Honasan the chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Information had also given assurances that the Senate version of the FOI bill would be passed by yearend. But soon after Aquino’s SONA on Monday, militant and opposition solons complained about the President missing out on the FOI bill. For one, Bayan-Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño said even as the President had talked at length about anti-corruption efforts, it was disappointing that Aquino made no mention of the FOI bill. [See: Aquino's SONA gets mixed reactions from lawmakers] "Unfortunately the President himself has become lukewarm to the proposal and the Executive is the one questioning its provisions. This is why after a year, Congress has failed to pass it," said Casiño, who had filed his version of the FOI bill (House Bill 113) in June last year and attended Aquino’s SONA on Monday wearing an FOI-inspired barong Tagalog. He insisted that one month would be enough to have the FOI bill passed, since Congress had already been working on it for a year. —Marlon Anthony Tonson/RSJ, GMA News