EDITORIAL - Freedom of Information

As the House of Representatives under Prospero Nograles Jr. continues to beat the dead horse that is Charter change, it is also not giving up on the Right of Reply Bill. Under this proposed legislation, lawmakers want to give themselves a license to interfere in the day-to-day editorial decisions of all media organizations.

Meanwhile, journalists await the passage of a law that will enhance their access to public records. Media organizations have been fighting for greater access to information on matters of public interest, including corruption cases. This is an exercise of a right enshrined in the Constitution. Section 7 of the Bill of Rights states: “The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents, and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.”

Instead of promoting this right, a government that has thrived on opaqueness has expanded the interpretation of those limitations, preventing the nation from finding out the whole truth about government deals such as the broadband network contract with ZTE Corp. Congress, which should exercise oversight functions on the executive, has sat for nine years on the proposed Freedom of Information Act.

In a special report, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism documented 14 major cases wherein officials in 11 government agencies denied the PCIJ’s requests for access to public records. The officials include justices of the Supreme Court, military generals, and Malacañang’s presidential appointees. The offices include those handling major government contracts and loan agreements.

The House passed its version of the Freedom of Information Act in May last year, after nearly a decade of advocacy mainly by media groups. The Senate, now preoccupied with sex videos and political maneuvering for the 2010 race, has yet to pass a counterpart measure. Before Congress creates a new right – the privilege of reply – through legislation, which would benefit mainly public officials averse to media criticism, it should first pass the Freedom of Information Act.