THERE is a sense in the observation of some businessmen that those seeking national positions in the coming elections should be heard on their stand about the Freedom of Information (FOI) law.
Pushing for greater transparency in government, Makati Business Club (MBC) executive director Coco Alcuaz said the passage of the FOI will make the citizens, the private sector and even other government officials more prepared in combating official corruption. Accountability in government, which is often hindered by bureaucratic red tape, has not been observed due to the absence of an FOI law.
The freedom of information had been one of many campaign promises of President Duterte in 2016 that he failed to fully deliver. The best that he did was to sign an Executive Order for the FOI program in July 2016, but this did not cover legislature, judiciary, and local government units (LGUs), while encouraging them to observe the order.
‘It will be easy for the public to convince the presidential candidates to support the FOI legislation at this time, because they are just in the thick of the campaign.’
For the record, Congress has tried hard to do its share when the House of Representatives Committee on Public Information consolidated last year several measures which seek to boost the country’s FOI. Topics of these proposed measures are people’s right to information, implementation of constitutional policies on public disclosure, ensuring public access to official records, and enabling the public’s constitutional right to access to information. The concerned Senate committee has conducted one or two hearings on this proposal but nothing much has happened since.
It is true that transparency and correct disclosures are effective tools for the business sector in decision-making. If government regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the private Philippine Stock Exchange both require full disclosure from companies in the country, government officials and agencies should observe the same in the spirit of good governance.
Alcuaz explained: “FOI would give the business sector confidence to know what there is to know about sectors or locations they want to invest in, whether this knowledge is what the government plans to do or agency data on the results of previous or current activities in that space.”
It will be easy for the public to convince the presidential candidates to support the FOI legislation at this time, because they are just in the thick of the campaign. How this important piece of legislation will fare in the next Congress and in the term of Duterte’s successor is still to be seen.
