FOI bill: Another political promise?

There is no doubt that election fever is very much in the air, after all the 2016 presidential elections is just a few months away.

But as I was about to write a commentary on the dropping from the presidential race by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) Family party-list Rep. Roy Señeres just a few days ago citing health reasons, yesterday morning, I read over my Facebook page that Roy Señeres suffered a heart attack and passed away at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City.

Perhaps it was the rigors of the political campaign that brought him to decide to quit, while he had a chance to quit. Now he has quit life itself. May we ask our pious reader to please pray for the repose of his soul.

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So now back to the presidential race. First, did I read it loud and clear that Liberal Party (LP) Presidential bet Manuel “Mar” Roxas made a promise that if elected President…he would prioritize the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill? If there is anything seriously wrong with the campaign of Mar Roxas, it is that he parrots his real boss, President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III who also made this same campaign promise during the 2010 presidential election… but in the end, he disappointed many of us for failing to live up to his campaign promise.

Let’s face it. P-Noy was perhaps the most powerful President since Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos turned from President to dictator because he held the 16th Congress in his pockets, which meant that whatever checks and balances that was guaranteed in the 1987 Constitution was meaningless. P-Noy was so powerful… he caused the removal of a sitting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Renato Corona, even if a great majority of Filipinos knew that it was an act of vengeance and personal vendetta on the part of the President. So the SC was scared of him.

Now whether he bribed Congress and the Senate through the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) and the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in order to gain the conviction of CJ Corona will be answered when criminal cases for misuse of public funds will be slapped on Pres. Aquino when he returns as a private citizen come July 1, 2016.

Yet despite his overwhelming power, plus a very active propaganda machinery, P-Noy could not cause the passage of the FOI bill? In the same light he even failed to cause the passage of his pet program the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), despite being lured to support the BBL as he could get the Nobel Peace Prize if he succeeded in passing this law.

So back to the promise of Mar Roxas to approve the FOI bill if elected President. A simple test whether or not Mar Roxas really or truly believes in the passage of the FOI bill, maybe had by reviewing any of his officials statements of support for the FOI bill. So far, I don’t recall Mar Roxas ever telling his pal P-Noy that he must prioritize the FOI bill. If we cannot see such a statement coming from Mar Roxas, then he can’t expect us to believe this campaign promise that is doomed to fail.

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Yesterday, the Philippine STAR came up with this very intriguing report that, “The Philippines will see nearly 5,000 megawatts (MW) from 47 new power facilities being built in the next five years. However, over 70 percent of these new power facilities would be coal-based, government data showed.

This is despite the country’s push for renewable energy projects and commitment in the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) held in Paris last December. The country will have 4,992.2 MW of new capacity coming from 47 new power facilities being built until 2020, latest data from the Department of Energy (DOE) showed. Nearly half, or 2,396.6 MW, of the power projects being built between now and 2020 is located in Luzon.”

This is the challenge we’d like to throw to the Presidentiables about their respective power programs. It is a fact that the Philippines is known to have the most expensive power in Asia…if not the world. So the question is, are we still proposing those projects to fulfill our commitments to climate change by using non-fossil fuel rather than coal fired plants, which is the most cost-effective power that we can buy?

We are happy that the Philippine economy continues to be robust despite the so many problems that the world is facing today. There is an added bonus that the world prices of oil has crashed down to historic lows… making these fuels very cheap and therefore attractive to use. In the end, alternative sources like wind power and solar energy has become too expensive with a very poor record for their return on investment (ROI). So let’s hear the concrete power programs of Sen. Grace Poe, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, and Vice-Pres. Jejomar Binay. Abangan!

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