Senate wraps up hearing on FOI bill

MANILA, Philippines -The Freedom of Information (FOI) bill is nearing approval at the Senate after the committee on public information and mass media wrapped up its public hearings on the measure yesterday.

Citing the significance and relevance of the FOI bill to the times, committee chair Sen. Grace Poe said the panel is determined to submit its report next week after an assessment of all the position statements and recommendations of various sectors.

“Hopefully, the approval on third reading will be done by the chamber within the year,” Poe said after the hearing.

Asked if there is a need for the measure to be certified urgent by President Aquino, Poe said she leaves it up to the wise discretion of the Chief Executive.

For his part, Deputy Ombudsman Gerald Mosquera said that they are fine with the passage of the measure as long as “national security and public safety are not prejudiced” and the “capacity of government to enforce its laws is not compromised.”

He also said the Office of the Ombudsman has no problem with the request to release the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs), but it raises concern when the documents are used to harass public officials.

“When there is a grant of a right to access information, then there should also be a right to regulate that right,” he added.

Meanwhile, the public hearings on the FOI bill in the House of Representatives have yet to start due to personal emergencies and lack of rooms, Misamis Occidental Rep. Jorge Almonte said yesterday.

Almonte, chairman of the House committee on public information, said there are 13 FOI bills filed in the 16th Congress.

He said the first organizational meeting of the panel last week was cancelled as he had to attend to his nephew, a doctor, who was among those held hostage in Zamboanga City. His brother also died in the past week.

Almonte said he tried to schedule another meeting on Sept. 24 but the hearing rooms are fully booked and many of the committee members are also scheduled to attend other public hearings.

Almonte welcomed reports that President Aquino and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. were supportive of the measure.

“I’m cognizant of the fact that access to public information is a constitutional mandate, therefore we should give life and meaning to this constitutional concept,” he added. –  With Paolo Romero