Senate OKs POGI bill on 2nd reading

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate on Tuesday night passed on second reading the People’s Ownership on Government Information (POGI) measure, the upper chamber's version of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill.

 

With this development, the passage of the long-awaited FOI measure is just a step away from approval at the Senate.

 

Sen. Gregorio Honasan, chairman of the Senate committee on public information and mass media, made the motion after he introduced the individual amendments set forth by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

 

 The committee accepted Santiago’s recommendation to differentiate deliberative process from presidential communications privilege.

 

Honasan, however, refused to accept Santiago’s  omnibus motion to words referring to the FOI measure as “people’s ownership.”

 

“Mr President, your committee would like to respectfully decline. To clarify, the right of freedom of information under this act and in response to Santiago’s observation that there are private information in government’s hands…this amendment clarifies that in using the word ‘ownership,' we are not diminishing the  private rights over these government-held information,” Honasan said.

 

 Instead, Honasan explained that such “ownership relation is defined by the access rights under Article 3, Section 7 of the Constitution."

 

“In giving our citizens the sense of ownership of information… we hope it leads to a realization both in the part of citizens and government goes beyond privilege. It serves as a reminder to everyone, less some people in government forgets, that sovereignty  resides in the people and public office is a public trust,” Honasan said.

 

 The Senate had accepted Santiago’s amendment to remove the provision on section 8 that requires each government agency to regularly publicize, print and disseminate the statements of assets, liabilities and networth (SALN) of all government officials.

 

 “We accept the individual amendment,” Honasan said, citing as rational that there are 1.3 million government officials in the country.

 

Traditionally, Santiago said the President has the presidential communications privilege while other executive officials have the deliberative process privilege.

 

The presidential communications privilege covers communications of the president and advisors in operational proximity to him on matters that form the core of presidential authority.