Legislation to create a Freedom of Information law has been refilled in the Philippine Congress.“This time it will not be killed,” said Quezon Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tanada III, quoted in an article by in the Manila Bulletin..
A Freedom of Information (FOI) bill failed to pass in the recently concluded 14th Congress.
Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casino submitted a “stronger” version of the FOI bill (HB 133), included a provision that allows the public absolute and mandatory access to matters of official information, public concern and public interest.
“As far as Congress is concerned, this, not the wang-wang or counter-flow issue, is the first acid test of the Aquino government’s commitment to good governance,” Casiño said, according to the Manila Bulletin.
“If the Aquino administration is serious in its platform of good governance, it should exert extra effort to have this bill passed. Considering that a similar proposal was already approved by the previous House, it would not be unreasonable to expect this to be approved within two to three months,” Casiño said. Fellow Bayan Muna Rep. Nery Colmenares co-authored the bill.
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