Consolidated FOI bills up for plenary debates

MANILA — After only two hearings in one month, the Senate committee on public information and mass media has submitted the Freedom of Information bill, consolidated from 14 separate measures, for plenary debates.

Senator Grace Poe, who chairs the committee, gave assurances Wednesday for the swift passage of Senate Bill No. 159, which she will sponsor in the plenary, even as she sought the support of her colleagues for the measure.

Although freedom of information is enshrined in the Constitution, in the three decades since the first FOI bill was filed on October 24, 1987 by the late Raul Roco, then representative of Camarines Sur’s second district, the measure has never thrived and, in the past two administrations, was actually killed on the cusp of passage.

“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,” Poe said. “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.”

SB 159 covers all three branches of government and provides for, among others, the mandatory disclosure of statements of assets, liabilities and net worth of public officials. It also lays down the penalties, including jail time and fines, for officials who refuse disclosure in bad faith or deliberate destroy requested documents.