THE Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill, bypassed by the legislature multiple times, gains wider support under the 20th Congress.
This as Deputy Minority Leader Zia Alonto Adiong rallied behind the call of FPJ Panday Bayanihan party-list Rep. Brian Poe for the ratification of the FOI measure.
The first FOI bill was filed by then Pangasinan Rep. Oscar Orbos on Aug.31, 1992, known as House Bill (HB) 1805, or the Freedom of Information Act of 1992.
The measure, which was left in limbo for about three decades, sought to grant private citizens the constitutional right to access government information, mandating transparency and accountability across all branches of the government.
Adiong expressed support for the FOI bill during the House Committee on Public Information’s organizational meeting.
Poe refiled the FOI bill as his first measure in the current Congress, with firm belief on the urgency of “finally enshrining transparency into law.”
“I rise today with conviction and with deep respect for the work that has come before us to manifest my strong support for the immediate passage of the Freedom of Information Bill, which I have filed in this Congress under House Bill No. 1188,” Poe declared.
The young legislator hailed the Committee leadership for prioritizing the FOI bill alongside the Anti-Fake News Bill, while also recalling how his mother, Senator Grace Poe, fought to institutionalize transparency.
“Like her, this was my priority bill—my first bill filed. She said then that the FOI bill is long overdue, that many people believe the long-term solution to corruption is by making government records and transactions accessible to the public,” Poe said.
