House OKs bill mandating disclosure of survey sponsors

MANILA, Philippines - Survey firms such as the Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Pulse Asia may no longer refuse to reveal their financiers if a measure endorsed by the House public information committee becomes law.

The committee has recommended the approval of Bill 3188 titled “An act mandating full disclosure of funding and financing of surveys,” authored by Leyte Rep. Sergio Apostol.

The committee is the same body that handles the controversial Freedom of Information Bill.

Under the Apostol measure, any person, group of persons or entity conducting a survey for the purpose of disseminating its results through the mass media and other means of communication will be required to disclose, publicize and reveal the truthful and complete source of funding of the survey.

Exempted from the requirement are surveys for purely scholastic work and educational purposes as required by academic institutions, those for personal use and information only, and those conducted or commissioned by companies for their own use and not for public dissemination.

Violators face imprisonment for six months to one year and a fine of P20,000. If the violator is a company, the penalty will be imposed on its officer who ordered the survey and the employee or personnel who conducted it.

Apostol said surveys affect the lives of many Filipinos.

“Surveys can be a shining light that may guide the citizenry to decide better for themselves and their families. However, some surveys may just confuse and mislead the general public, leading to speculations and unwarranted conclusions as to the truth of a matter of public concern,” he said.

“Revealing the true source of funding and financing of surveys rightly apprises the public of who may be truly behind the same and their intention of doing so,” he added.

He said some unscrupulous persons use their money for surveys to advance their own personal agenda or to seek personal gain.

He said the funding disclosure requirement would give the public a fair and educated judgment as to the veracity and legitimacy of surveys.

Another House member, Jonathan de la Cruz of party-list group Abakada, wants the House to conduct an inquiry into the scope and extent of surveys and how they are conducted.

De la Cruz, a member of the so-called House independent bloc, questioned the recent SWS survey that shows President Aquino’s satisfaction ratings unchanged, even in areas destroyed by calamities.

“The survey results were soundly criticized by some quarters, especially by affected citizens in these calamity-hit areas,” he said.

Like Apostol, De la Cruz wants to know the financiers of surveys on politicians and potential electoral candidates, such as those who have announced their plans to run in the 2016 presidential elections.