FOI a must
In his column titled “Knowing” (Inquirer, 9/27/11), Conrado de Quiros cited a positive aspect of the WikiLeaks. But the best part was the delightful journey of thinking he gave me.
I value knowing as I value things that matter most in life. Secrecy draws out only doubts, while freedom settles a man and empowers him to develop himself and the world around him without fear, even endowing him with maturity and a high sense of responsibility.
Freedom also creates space for one to develop self-discipline. When one avoids evil because he knows what he’s doing, he’s well-informed.
Knowing makes one well-informed and well-formed, and a well-informed citizenry is essential to having a well-formed nation. In similar light, freedom and the right to know are essential to achieve and uphold true democracy in our land.
So I reacted with a grin when President Aquino, during his visit to the United States, the world’s cradle of democracy, said that transparency will remain an underlying policy during his governance—as something necessary in the fight against corruption. But he failed to tell the Americans how democracy is doing here, why he is ambivalent about the passage of the freedom of information (FOI) bill. In the United States, they have the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act). P-Noy knows transparency alone isn’t enough to fight corruption. To win the war on corruption, we need the FOI.
This is the battle cry of Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III, the FOI bill’s author. So far he is the only one who promises a cure to corruption with his FOI. If P-Noy would consider the merits of the FOI, he would be pleasing a true ally—not just his but also the nation’s—in the fight for good governance.
A citizen may visit government offices and ask questions, but without an FOI Act, his/her quest for information needed to reach informed decisions may end up all in vain.
—RONALDO M. CARANDANG,
Sugartowne, Batasan Hills, Quezon City
