Right-of-reply provision in FOI bill opposed

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo opposed yesterday the reported plan of some of his colleagues in the House of Representatives to include a right-of-reply (ROR) provision in the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill.

Castelo said such plan could further delay the approval of the measure that would give people the right to seek information from government agencies.

“The FOI bill has been pending for quite a while. Congress has to ensure the nation that it would enact it in a year or two,” Castelo said.

He said the proposed law has a better chance of approval without a right-of-reply provision, adding the House could consider a separate ROR bill.

Castelo said calls for the inclusion in the FOI measure of an ROR section were made after some lawmakers were linked to the pork barrel scam.

He said the proposed ROR provision would compel mass media outfits to give the same space or airtime and prominence to the answer or statement of people who feel maligned by news reports about their inclusion in the alleged scams or scandals.

The FOI bill is still pending in the committee on public information. Its approval by previous Congresses was derailed at the last minute due to the insistence of some members for an ROR provision.

The leader of the opposition in the House has warned his colleagues and the nation that the proposed FOI law could become collateral damage of the pork barrel scam.

“You know, one unfortunate consequence of this controversy is that now members of the House are thinking of first including as an adjunct to the freedom of information bill, a bill allowing for a re-write to reply,” Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora said in a news conference on Wednesday.

“That is going to be an unfortunate consequence, but the problem is when you paint with too broad a brush, and you end up listing 150-200 names, then some members of Congress are going to complain. And the way that they can fight back, they think, is to institute a right of reply,” Zamora added.

He was referring to the huge number of lawmakers that alleged pork barrel scam brains Janet Lim-Napoles and whistle-blower Benhur Luy have listed as allegedly involved in the scam.

The Luy list includes Zamora, but the San Juan congressman has denied any wrongdoing.

Since some minority members are authors of the FOI bill, he said his group would oppose the inclusion of a right-of-reply in the measure.

“We are prepared to take a longer view and say, no if we are going to pass a freedom of information bill, it should be the way it is. We have to remain unshakable in our determination to have this passed and we don’t want to include a right of reply right now,” he said.

Zamora said this is not to say that they are not going to win the debate.

“In the end, the majority, who are far more numerous than we are, will not end up with some version like that. Again, as I said, this is an unintended consequence, but this may well be what will happen,” he added.