Foreign businessmen favor Freedom of Information Bill

MANILA, Philippines - Foreign businessmen are in favor of the ratification of the Freedom of Information Bill because it will improve the country’s declining transparency ranking.

In a statement, the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) said that if passed into law, the bill would improve the country’s ranking in foreign economic review publications such as the “Global Competitiveness Report” of the World Economic Forum and the “World Competitiveness Yearbook” of the International Institute for Management Development.

Passage of the bill into law would also help improve the country’s declining ranking in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.

The JFC said the country’s low ranking in the indexes affects foreign direct investment inflows because foreign businessmen use these as references.

“As you know, foreign direct investment in the Philippines is much too low, in part because of the perceptions of corruption in the country. New investors frequently consult the foregoing indexes when considering where to locate their overseas investments,” JFC said.

The chamber said the bill would provide uniform and speedy access to information of public interest in government agencies.

The Freedom of Access to Information bill was first filed in Congress in 1992. After 18 years, it is close to ratification.

It allows the copying of all official information in government agencies. Officials who block public access face imprisonment of one to six months.