THE House committee on public information, chaired by ACT Rep. Antonio Tinio, heard preliminary deliberations on 30 measures on the proposed FOI law with the view of passing it before the end of the year.
“With his issuance of Executive Order 2 on FOI, President Duterte has already sent a strong go signal for Congress to enact an FOI law,” Tinio said, adding that a technical working group has been created to consolidate the meaures, consisting of 30 bills, one resolution and one privilege speech.
The technical working group is scheduled anytime next week before Congress goes on a Halloween break beginning Oct. 19.
“Considering that FOI has been languishing in Congress for nearly three decades now, we aim to come up with a harmonized FOI bill and have it approved by the House as soon as possible, by the end of this year,” Tinio added.
But Tinio said his panel would “ensure substantial consultations not only with government agencies but also with concerned sectors—all towards crafting a genuine FOI that will guarantee the widest access to information on matters of public concern.”
In a related development, Palace’s Assistant Communications Secretary Christian Ablan said the Palace shall come up with a list of exceptions to President Rodrigo Duterte’s Freedom of Information executive order which will be released anytime soon.
Ablan said Duterte would want to narrow down to 10 the original list of more than 160 suggested exceptions.
“(The exceptions) are broad,” Ablan told lawmakers attending the FOI hearing. “But for purposes of explaining to the people, it is easier to digest 10.”
Ablan said the exceptions might be patterned after those in the FOI laws of Australia and the United States, which include national security; law enforcement documents; documents with secrecy provisions; those exempted by statutes; trade secrets; confidential documents; legal professional privilege; and, personal memos.
“We believe that the exceptions can fall into these categories,” Ablan said.
President Duterte issued Executive Order No. 2 last July 23 which “operationalizes in the executive branch the people’s constitutional right to information and the state policies to full public disclosure and transparency in the public service.”
Ablan said concerned parties have been ordered to come up with their respective People’s FOI Manuals and devise a policy in 120 calendar days upon the effectivity of the EO, or by Nov. 25.
