Lawmaker joins call for passage of FOI bill

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara has joined the clamor for the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

In Senate Bill 1219, Angara reasserts the constitutional imperative that the government must operate with utmost transparency and accountability.

“With a clear policy on official information, we affirm our adherence to a basic libertarian tenet – the recognition of every Filipino’s primordial right to be informed of the workings of their government,” he said in the bill’s explanatory note.

Once passed into law, the FOI bill will allow citizens access to any record under the control of a government agency.

The concerned agencies would have to make available to the public for scrutiny, copying and reproduction these records as provided by law.

A legal presumption would exist in favor of access to information, but the request may only be denied based on exceptions under the law.

Among the exceptions would be those classified as “secret” by the government, especially those concerning national security and the external and internal defense of the country.

Information on records of minutes and advice given to the chief executive as part of policy formulation or during decision-making processes would also be considered part of the exceptions.

If information would violate an individual’s personal privacy, the release could be barred from public access.

Senators Loren Legarda and Grace Poe had filed separate bills on FOI at the start of the 16th Congress.