Need for FOI law passage highlighted by pork barrel scam

WE ARE members of the Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition, a network of more than 150 organizations from various sectors that have long been campaigning for the passage of a Freedom of Information (FOI) law.

In the early evening of Sept. 27, we, together with concerned groups and individuals, lighted candles at the gates of the House of Representatives, to symbolize our desire to have a government where information is exposed to the light of truth and made accessible to every citizen. Other groups in different localities joined us by engaging simultaneously in kindred activities, and many netizens expressed their solidarity with our call through social media using the hashtag #LightUp4FOI.

We call on the leaders and members of the House to match the decisive action so far taken by the Senate on the FOI bill with concrete, positive and forward steps.

First, we demand that House Majority Leader Neptali M. Gonzales II and the committee on rules immediately calendar the first reading and the referral of the People’s FOI bill (filed by people’s organizations through indirect initiative) now that the congressional session has resumed. Republic Act No. 6735 (The Initiative and Referendum Act), under which the petition was filed, is unambiguous with respect to the required action by the House on such a petition. Section 11 of the law states that any duly accredited people’s organization may file a petition for indirect initiative with the House, and that “the procedure to be followed on the initiative bill shall be the same as the enactment of any legislative measure before the House of Representatives except that the said initiative bill shall have precedence over the pending legislative measures on the committee.”

Under the House Rules, the House secretary general must report the bill for first reading within three session days from receipt thereof; and this involves as well the referral of the bill by the Speaker to the appropriate committee. We filed the petition on the first working day of the 16th Congress on July 1, yet up to now the petition remains stalled with the committee on rules.

Second, we demand that House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, together with the House leadership, make a clear public commitment to pass the FOI bill soonest. Such commitment must be accompanied with a credible and specific timetable, similar to the announcement made by the Senate of its target to pass the People’s FOI bill by the end of this year.

Third, we demand that the committee on public information immediately start deliberating on the FOI bills within this month. Similar to what has been done at the Senate, the chair should already announce the number of hearings needed to reach consolidation, preset the specific dates of the hearings and agenda for each setting, and submit its report to plenary before the end of this year.

Fourth, we demand that members of Congress put the public interest ahead of their personal concerns, and withdraw their insistence on an unconstitutional “right of reply” rider to the FOI.

These demands are reasonable, not only to reverse the history of House resistance to and inaction on FOI, but, more importantly, in light of the discovery of the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) or pork barrel scam. The scam exposed how we Filipinos continue to fall victim to plunder despite numerous government mechanisms to protect public funds. PDAF projects are supposed to conform to a limited menu, and are subject to oversight by Congress, the Department of Budget and Management and the implementing agencies. Each project has to abide by the Procurement Act and by the stringent guidelines on funds releases and NGO participation; and it is subject to regular audit by the Commission on Audit. The breakdown at different points in these government safeguard mechanisms highlights the urgency and need to pass the proposed People’s FOI Act, to empower us citizens to directly protect ourselves against the abuse of the hard-earned resources that we entrust to government.

Our Light Up for FOI, held last Sept. 27 just when the House was about to wrap up the approval of the proposed P2.268-trillion budget for 2014, puts forth the need to bring to light not only the PDAF (which constitutes less than 1.5 percent of the national budget), but also the much bigger chunk of public resources. We also need to bring to light the decision-making process of government to allow citizens the capacity for informed participation.

Sept. 27 was also the eve of the International Right to Know Day. The day was designated so by FOI advocates from different countries beginning 2002. It reminded us that the right to know is rarely given on a silver platter; it is a right that we citizens must demand and fight for. The candles we lighted represented our enduring fight for the passage of a proposed People’s FOI Act.