Unclear signals

When President Aquino was a senator and then when he was campaigning for the presidency, he was plugging for freedom of information. Now that he is president, the media are getting unclear signals.

Advocates of the freedom of information bill said last week that the President had a chance to categorically state his position on the measure during his State of the Nation Address but he blew it. The advocates and other media leaders met in a roundtable discussion under the auspices of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility and discussed what could be done to push for the passage of the measure. One participant even light-heartedly suggested that an “Oblation Run” be conducted to urge public officials “to bare all.”

The administration, represented by Undersecretary Manuel L. Quezon III of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, said that the study group and the stakeholders had yet to reach a consensus and write a final draft, and that is why the President did not mention it in the Sona. The administration draft, among other things, would set up an independent Freedom of Information Commission and provide for certain exceptions.

Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III, author of one version of the bill, said the President could have made a big impact, especially for its advocates, had he mentioned it in his Sona.

Nepomuceno Malaluan of the Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition complained that the signals from the President are unclear, and asked if he is really committed to see the measure enacted into law.

Malou Mangahas of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism cited an instance which showed that under the present administration there is still poor access to government information. She said that the PCIJ made 35 requests for copies of the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth but only 20 of the requests were granted, making for a poor 57 percent rate of approval. This, she said, was “spotty proof’” of Mr. Aquino’s recipe for good governance in the processes and practices of these agencies.

Carolyn Arguillas of MindaNews recounted her experience in being given the runaround in government offices. She said she made a request for the SALNs of Mindanao governors and city mayors on Sept. 1, 2010 but as of July 27, 2011, she was still waiting for them.

Dr. Ronald U. Mendoza of the AIM Policy Center cited findings of various local and foreign studies that showed citizen literacy could help curb public spending leakages, that government audits could reduce corruption in infrastructure projects, and that the threat of a freedom of information investigation could reduce petty bribe taking.

Professor Luis V. Teodoro, former dean of the UP College of Mass Communication, pointed out that the Philippines is one of the few countries in Asia without a freedom of information law. But he urged that the measure be drafted carefully, and warned that if a flawed bill is enacted into law, it might make access to information more problematic.

In the end, the consensus among the participants was that a well-drafted freedom of information measure should be discussed by Congress, that the law must enhance freedom and not restrict it, that the procedure for obtaining information should be made shorter, that information should be free, and that citizens should not be made to pay for it.

Actually, access to information is already guaranteed in the 1987 Constitution, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA  6713) and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019).  But a freedom of information act will make the guarantees stronger and put pressure on government officials and members of the private sector (except where their private lives are concerned) to give citizens, and especially the media, access to information.

In Valmonte v. Belmonte (1989), the Supreme Court said that “[d]enied access to information on the inner workings of government, the citizenry can become prey to the whims and caprices of those to whom power has been delegated.”

Information is the oxygen of a democracy. Cut off access to information in a country, and democracy soon dies. Attaining a “tuwid na daan” (straight path) will be difficult without freedom of information. We hope that this administration will realize that easy access to information will help it greatly in pursuing its anti-corruption campaign.