Palace disputes claim Aquino lacks political will on FOI bill

Malacañang disputed over the weekend claims by groups pushing the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill that President Benigno Aquino III is lacking in political will as shown by the non-passage of the measure in Congress. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte maintained Aquino is still weighing the implications of such a measure on the various sectors concerned. “We understand their concerns. Sa part ng government, hindi pwedeng basta-basta magsabi ng hindi pinag-iisipan at pinag-aaralanng mabuti," she said on government-run dzRB radio. She noted other countries like Brazil, a member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) that promotes transparency, does not have an FOI measure. Also, she said President Aquino himself has so far been “the most transparent" president. But she said there are concerns to be considered in the FOI bill, including those of the bureaucracy. “May concerns sila, may concerns ang Pangulo, may concerns ang bureaucracy. It is but fitting for the president to take those concerns," she said. "We understand the concerns of many sectors, considering what happened in the previous administration. But we cannot just push the measure because the president has to take into consideration the concerns of other stakeholders. We cannot just push ahead just to satisfy the needs of one sector," she said. Earlier, the “Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition" scored the Philippine government’s refusal to prioritize the FOI Bill. It issued a statement a few days before Aquino delivers the keynote address at the OGP forum in New York where he is expected to boast of his government’s policy of transparency and openness. “(O)n the home front, we do not find credible basis for President Aquino to beat his breast as an exemplar of transparency and open government in the world. More than 14 months into his term, President Aquino has not mustered the political will to honor his campaign pact with the people` to assure the passage of the Freedom of Information Act, the legislation the country needs to provide substantive, procedural, and institutional guarantee to the people’s constitutional right to information," the group's statement said. The group also rejected a proposal to ensure transparency though an executive order. “While we acknowledge ongoing transparency efforts by the executive, these have been uneven and concentrated mainly in those headed by secretaries that are more open to transparency and accountability practices, such as DBM and DILG. Also, there have been serious reversals in access to disclosures (statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth or SALN) by public officials. The judiciary has long clamped on access to SALNs of Justices and judges," it added. — LBG, GMA News