In observance of the Holy Week, the Philippine News Agency’s online news service will be off on March 29, Good Friday, and March 30, Black Saturday. Normal operations will resume on March 31, Easter Sunday.

— The Editors

Next president should champion transparency, FOI bill

By Filane Mikee Cervantes

January 27, 2022, 4:45 pm

MANILA – A party-list lawmaker on Thursday said the next president should make anti-corruption his or her defining platform and certify as urgent the enactment of the long-overdue Freedom of Information (FOI) bill.

Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) Party-List Representative and House Deputy Speaker Bro. Eddie Villanueva made the remark following the country’s score decline in the recently released 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

With a score of 33 on a scale where 100 means a country is perceived clean while 0 is seen as highly corrupt -- the Philippines ranked 117th out of 180 countries included in the 2021 CPI conducted by international watchdog Transparency International.

This standing is a point lower and two notches drop than 2020’s score and ranking -- which is 34 and 115th, respectively.

VIllanueva described corruption as “anti-jobs, anti-health and anti-poor” because it steals government funds intended to provide Filipinos with employment, ayuda (cash aid), and protection from Covid-19.

“The next President must be someone who puts anti-corruption a centerpiece of the coming administration. I, therefore, call on all my fellow Filipinos to carefully discern and only vote for the candidate who has convincing proof of ability and track record to fight corruption,” he said.

Citing Office of the Ombudsman data, Villanueva said around PHP700 billion of the national government’s budget is annually lost to corruption.

“This will be revealed if the candidate will certify as urgent the passage of the Freedom of Information bill which will radically disclose all government documents and transactions to the public thus enhance public accountability and deter corrupt undertakings that are disadvantageous to the people,” he said.

The FOI bill seeks to expand the scope of open governance by directing agencies to disclose information on projects and other matters that involve public interest.

Among the salient features of the bill are crafting a mechanism that will refer and transfer requests to appropriate agencies that should address the said request and the creation of a records management system.

The bill provides that government agencies must respond to an FOI request within 15 days from the receipt thereof.

An oversight body or the FOI Commission will also be established, along with the creation of a central appeals and review committee (CARC) for all FOI compliant agencies in the three major branches of the government -- Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary.

The Office of the Ombudsman will also have the power to review the decisions from the CARC.

Villanueva said the FOI bill will pave the way to a more conscientious government, owing to the government officials’ prior understanding that the data about official transactions will be open to public scrutiny and questioning.

The proposal, he said, would help uplift the public’s trust in the government.

He said government transparency encourages public participation in the conduct of facilitating the country’s daily businesses.

"An honest government with transparent systems also encourages investors, thus advancing micro and macroeconomic growth. For this reason, laws that guarantee people’s right to public information have already been adopted all across the world," he said.

On July 23, 2016, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) 2 on FOI that allows all Filipinos to obtain documents and records from public offices, to promote transparency in the government under his watch.

Under EO 2, a Filipino citizen can request any information about government transactions and operations by presenting proof of education to the concerned state office or lodging queries online through the official website www.foi.gov.ph.

An FOI request can be made before all government offices under the executive branch, including government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs), and state universities and colleges (SUCs).

Requesting parties can have access to information, official records, public records and documents and papers on official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as government research data used as the basis for policy development.

The landmark policy mandates the Presidential Communications Operations Office as the designated lead government agency to operationalize the FOI program that aims to promote transparency, accountability, and citizen participation by requiring government agencies to disclose information about their transactions that involve public interest.

The anti-corruption policy is being complemented by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and the Republic Act 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business Act.

However, the EO does not cover the legislature, judiciary, and local government units although it encourages them to observe the order. (PNA)

Comments