Members of the Right to Know Right Now Coalition on Monday gave the the controversial Freedom of Information bill a deadline—before the end of the second regular session of Congress—otherwise, it will likely not pass, they said.
The second regular session of the 16th Congress will end in March 2015, giving authors and advocates roughly 14 months to pass the measure that seeks to provide the public easier access to public documents.
“It has to be passed before what we call the red zone after the second regular session,” lawyer Nepumoceno Malaluan said in a press forum.
Malaluan explained that after March 2015, the legislative branch will be concerned with the upcoming 2016 presidential elections and the annual spending bill.
“From experience, they will be saying, ‘[sorry, but] we did our best,’” he said.
But it’s not just the relatively short amount of time that could derail passage of the FOI bill anew. Malaluan said the lukewarm response from both the House of Representatives and the Executive could further slow down passage of the bill.
“There’s a lack of desire and commitment from the House leadership and the Committee Chair, and the executive keeps leaving it up to Congress,” he explained.
Open Data Philippines and FOI
Meanwhile, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism executive director Malou Mangahas scored the government over its recently-launched Open Data Philippines initiative, lauding the Aquino administration for its forays into transparency, but also cautioning the public that the government “is [only] forthcoming with easy information,” and that a Freedom of Information Law remains necessary.
“They’re so specific. These are data that are okay and are available already. Data we need is at the heart of transparency. Wag na yung madali [ang ilagay sa website,] yung mahirap pwede ba ilabas nila,” she said.
“ODP has grand values, but is is only from the side of the government. They should be ready to provide information when the public demands it. After all, transparency is not a function of the government, it is a function of the ruled, that is real accountability,” Mangahas added.
When asked what the public can do to ensure that the bill will not get mired in legislative limbo, Mangahas advised advocates to watch Aquino’s legislative agenda, particularly if he will ever declare the bill as urgent. Such a declaration would allow the bill to jump past procedural hurdles in the lawmaking process.
“Yung legislative agenda, we can watch it. As a candidate, Aquino endorsed it, [and] said it will be passed in his term,” she said.
Malacañang on Monday made clear that the Open Data Philippines website will not be used as a substitute to the FOI bill.
“That is not a substitute to FOI. Open Data is supply-driven, FOI is demand-driven,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a press conference.
But he said that, at some point, the two may “intersect” so that some answers to the questions that FOI advocates have will be uploaded without them having to ask.
Hips, not lips
Finally, Vincent Lazatin, executive director of the Transparency and Accountability Network, noted the Aquino administration has been sweet-talking advocates of the FOI bill while government actions point in a different direction.
“Let’s watch their hips and not their lips, kung baga, let’s see how they move. Kasi, right now their actions are not in conjunction with the sense of urgency in the public,” he said. — JDS, GMA News
