Lawmakers refile FOI bills

MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers have re-filed their respective versions of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bills after President Duterte signed an executive order that provides the public access to documents and data under the executive department.

Two senators and a congressman have filed their counterpart FOI bills to complement the EO issued by Duterte.

Sen. Grace Poe, principal author of the FOI bill in the 16th Congress, said Congress should still enact a law since the EO’s scope covers only the executive department and its agencies.

“A law can cover all divisions and branches of government. Our proposed law also covers private contractors that have transactions with government,” Poe said, referring to Senate Bill 159 that she filed last June 30.

Sen. Loren Legarda also filed an FOI bill, which she said provides a clear, uniform and speedy procedure for access to information and provisions that allows citizens to counterbalance and override a recognized exception when there is greater public interest in information disclosure.

“We need to cover transactions involving private entities who may be in cahoots with government officers in stealing public funds,” Poe said.

Legarda’s provision also mandates automatic disclosure of transactions of public concern as required by Article II Section 28 of the Constitution.

Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas filed a counterpart bill at the House of Representatives to help enact an FOI law.

“He (Duterte) has jumpstarted our unending crusade for government transparency. I’m quite pleased with the promptness and urgency that our President has pushed for the FOI, even if just at the executive department level,” Vargas said.

Vargas is the author of House Bill 75, entitled the “People’s Freedom of Information Act.”

“Knowing we have the President’s support gives us encouragement that FOI will finally become a law. This is a historic time for every Filipino who has fought for transparency in government,” Vargas said.

Sen. Leila de Lima cited Duterte for issuing the EO as it “takes transparency, accountability and participatory governance to a whole new level.”

“FOI is the core of transparency, accountability and participatory governance. With the signing of the EO, the government is now able to take citizen engagement to a whole new level,” she said.

She said she would support the passage of FOI bills in the Senate.

Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte also commended Duterte’s order.

“We laud the President’s swift action in having an EO on FOI signed within his first 100 days in office just as he has promised to the Filipino during the campaign,” he said in a statement.

Villafuerte said the EO, even if it covers only the executive branch, is a major step in the campaign toward having a more transparent and accountable government.

Under Villafuerte’s bill, “any citizen can request a wide-range of information from government agencies and the latter are mandated to make readily available information even without a request.”

Questions raised on FOI order

A Supreme Court (SC) insider yesterday raised questions on a specific provision of the EO that would require all government offices under the executive branch to disclose details of their transactions.

The SC member, who requested anonymity due to possibility of the issue being brought up before the high court, cited Section 13 (c) of the order, which is under the title “Remedies In Cases of Denial of Request for Access to Information.”

The provision specifically states that: “Upon exhaustion of administrative appeal remedies, requesting party may file the appropriate case in the proper courts in accordance with the Rules of Court.”

The source believes that the President might have overstepped the bounds of his power in including this provision in his EO, which appeared to be assigning jurisdiction to the courts on appeals of rejected FOI requests.

“The President cannot legislate jurisdiction of the courts; only Congress can do that. And Congress cannot even legislate jurisdiction of the SC without its consent,” the insider explained to The STAR. – With Delon Porcalla, Edu Punay