Palace having difficulties in 'balancing' competing interests in FOI bill

A Cabinet official on Thursday said that Malacañang could not immediately act on the Freedom of Informaton (FOI) bill because they are having difficulties balancing the "competing interests" in the measure. Communications Strategy Secretary Ricky Carandang said the Palace did not mention or prioritize the FOI bill, a landmark piece of legislation that will lift the shroud of secrecy over government transactions and data, during the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) because they do not feel that they are "ready" to submit a draft of the measure that would address everybody's concerns. "It is sometimes difficult to balance the competing interests. Our friends in media would want as much disclosure as possible and while we understand that, it is also our responsibility to make sure that in those disclosures we do not harm the State's interest," Carandang said during the Senate public information and mass media committee hearing on the FOI bill. He likewise said that he would rather have a bill that can get the most consensus from all the stakeholders rather than a bill that will be objected to vehemently by other stakeholders. "I am aware that there has been clamor to fast-track the passage of this act (but) we would rather err on the side of caution rather than rush with something that will be hard to defend," Carandang said.

Afraid of media? Senator Gregorio Honasan, who chairs the Senate public information panel, asked Carandang whether they were afraid of the media. To which, the Cabinet official replied that they are not afraid of the media and they only want to protect the State's interests. "We've always recognized the role of the media in upholding democracy. (I was a member of the media but I have begun) to have a greater appreciation of the concerns of the bureaucracy. This administration is trying to be as open as it can," he said. But lawyer Nepomuceno Malaluan of the Access to Info Network said the FOI bill is not only for the media but is also for every citizen. Manuel "Manolo" Quezon III of the Palace's Communications group, for his part, said they will make sure that that the media, ordinary citizens, scholars, and analysts also get access to government records. Quezon also said they are already making information more available to the public while waiting for the passage of the FOI bill. Still, Honasan said the Palace officials should give a timeline when they can thresh out their concerns regarding the bill so that the public will know that they are serious in their bid to be transparent. Senate version vs Palace version Under the Senate's version of the FOI bill — Senator Alan Peter Cayetano's SB 2354 — there will be eight exceptions where access to information maybe denied. This includes information which may directly affect or is related to national defense, diplomatic relations, law enforcement operations, invasion of privacy, trade secrets, privileged informationfrom legal proceedings, information as exempted by the law, information obtained in executive session, and information regarding the drafts of decisions by government bodies in the exercise of their adjudicatory functions. But in the Palace's draft bill, it also included information directly related to national security and information obtained during the presidential deliberative process. It likewise provides for the creation of an information commission, which shall receive, hear, and adjudicate complaints filed by applicants of specific information. It also says that denial of information shall not be grounds for administrative sanction or criminal liability. In SB 2354, in case an applicant is denied information, they can only appeal to the head of the agency, Ombudsman or the court. Cayetano, for his part, said that he does not object to having an information commission. But he said that the more important thing is that all stakeholders agree to the principle that there is a need for the FOI bill. "If magkakasundo sa version we can this very fast," he said after the hearing. Honasan said they will still have to conduct a series of technical working group meetings to agree on the provisions. "We assure you that this will be treated with some kind of urgency," he said. — RSJ, GMA News