No more alibis to delay FOI enactment

There is no more reason for the committee on public information of the House of Representatives to continue delaying the approval of the freedom of information (FOI) bill and entertaining the addle-minded attempts of some lawmakers to force the inclusion of a right-to-reply (ROR) provision in the measure.

Especially not after the clear results of the online poll on whether an ROR provision should be inserted into the FOI bill that our “honorable” representatives posted early this month on the House of Representatives’ website (https://congress.gov.ph/). A poll, mind you, which they very suspiciously did not announce but which nevertheless could not slip past the vigilance of right-to-information advocates.

As of Oct. 1, 2014, the survey showed 326 votes (71.18 percent) against the ROR and 124 votes (27.07 percent) for the ROR, with only eight undecided votes.

Any more hedging on the matter can only bolster suspicions that the corrupt and the inept will not stop moving heaven and earth to prevent the passage of this landmark legislation, especially since the Senate passed its version months ago.

We challenge the members of the House, particularly its public information committee chair, Rep. Jorge Almonte, to immediately resume the legislative advance of the FOI bill or drop the pretense of being the representatives of a people whose rights they continue to ignore and whose wishes they continue to spurn.

—ROWENA C. PARAAN, chair,
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines,
4/L FSS Bldg. 89 Scout Castor St. corner
Scout Tuason St. (near T. Morato Avenue),
Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City