Press Release
October 19, 2016

POE ASSURES OK OF FOI AS BILL ADVANCES IN SENATE

Senator Grace Poe has assured the immediate passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill that gives flesh to the citizens' constitutional right to information on matters of public concern as she sought for greater transparency in government.

Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public information and mass media, today sponsored in plenary Senate Bill No. 1208 or the proposed FOI law and sought backing from her colleagues in the light of the publicly avowed support from the administration on the measure.

"We truly appreciate the administration for its keen push of the FOI that would effectively make transparency, accountability and integrity as yardsticks in government performance. We remain confident that we will pass this FOI in the present Congress because our citizens cannot afford to wait any longer to fully exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to access critical information," said Poe.

The proposed FOI law, despite multi-partisan support in previous Congresses, faced deliberate delays and remained in limbo in the legislature for nearly three decades amid lukewarm backing from the Executive branch and their allies in the House of Representatives. The FOI bill is Poe's first legislation filed in the 17th Congress.

The landmark measure-a consolidation of 14 bills-covers the Executive, Judiciary and the Legislature, demands accountability across the public sector, prescribes procedures, remedies and defines limitations for citizens' access to government record and data and even sets criminal, civil and administrative penalties for non-disclosure of information.

The measure also provides for mandatory disclosures of statements of assets, liabilities and net worth of public officials. Exempted from disclosure, however, are those that will compromise national security, defense, law enforcement operations, foreign relations, trade and economic secrets and the constitutional right to privacy and safety.

Under the legislation, jail time and fines will be imposed upon individuals who acted in bad faith over non-disclosure or those who willfully destroyed requested documents.

No less than President Rodrigo Duterte issued marching orders to lawmakers to pass an FOI law and implement wide-ranging reforms after Malacañang issued Executive Order No. 2 implementing FOI only in the executive branch.

In his budget message to Congress after submitting the proposed P3.35 trillion national expenditure program for 2017, Duterte urged Congress to act swiftly on the "long overdue" FOI?, saying the State must "uphold the people's right to demand information on government affairs, particularly on how their taxes are spent."

The Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council composed of lawmakers and Cabinet, with the President as its chairman has included the FOI as among the priority measures of the Duterte administration.

Poe's public information and mass media committee conducted two hearings on the FOI last Sept. 19 and 29.

In the 16th Congress, the Senate approved on third and final reading its version of the FOI bill on March 10, 2014-or in record eight months from the filing of the measure.

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