Noy slammed for refusing to certify FOI bill

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino continues to refuse to certify as urgent the landmark Freedom of Information (FOI) bill because his administration has a lot to hide, Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said yesterday.

Ridon, one of 24 authors of the FOI bill, said Aquino promised during the 2010 presidential campaign to immediately enact into law the transparency measure but broke his promise when he came into power.

On Thursday, Aquino said the FOI bill would not be certified as urgent as it is not a matter of national emergency, unlike the Sin Tax Law and the Reproductive Health Law.

But Ridon said a national emergency is not needed to certify a bill as urgent, and even pointed out how Aquino pushed for a bill “extending the bogus land reform law… Such pronouncement reveals the President’s double standards when it comes to certifying bills.”

“Well, Mr. President, did you consider that billions of public funds are easily being funneled by corrupt politicians to their own pockets because of lack of public scrutiny? Lack of essential information that hinder Filipinos from being free and self-governing can actually be considered a national emergency in itself,” he added.

The FOI bill remains pending before the House committee on public information chaired by Misamis Occidental Rep. Jorge Almonte who, according to several authors of the measure, has been exerting efforts to delay the landmark measure upon orders of Malacañang.

They said the Aquino administration is deliberately delaying the passage of the transparency and anti-corruption bill until 2016, so that it will not be covered by the measure.

Ridon noted that one apparent motive for Aquino’s continued refusal to certify the FOI bill as urgent is the administration’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), which the Supreme Court declared as partly unconstitutional and remains unaccounted for.

The DAP controversy is the basis of two of three impeachment complaints now lodged against Aquino.

“It is apparent that the Aquino administration is hiding many secrets as regards the utilization of DAP funds. Malacañang’s refusal to disclose DAP details may indeed prove to be the single largest stumbling block to the passage of the FOI bill,” Ridon said.

“Malacañang controlled DAP fully, and it should be the first to account for it. The executive branch may have released documents on DAP, yet until now, the full utilization and dispensation of DAP funds remain unclear. The public is still clueless on how much a particular senator or legislator truly received from DAP.

“President Aquino should stop fooling the public. If he is indeed for full transparency and accountability, he should once and for all certify FOI as urgent,” the lawmaker added.