by Camille Joyce Lita
While the administration has now issued an executive order (EO) on the Freedom of Information (FOI), its pursuance of transparency still depends on the gravity of restrictions present in the order, according to members of the media.
This comes in light of President Rodrigo Duterte’s issuance of the FOI EO two days before he delivered his first State of the Nation Address, which was one of his campaign promises in the 2016 elections.
“[T]he Duterte administration should proceed with a commitment to adhere to the principles of full disclosure, to which limitations and exceptions should be strictly construed and narrowly defined,” said the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility’s (CMFR) in a statement.
Duterte’s EO would grant the public access to documents from the executive branch’s departments, bureaus, government-owned firms, state universities and colleges’ records, and statement of assets and liabilities of public officials. Failure to comply would lead to administrative charges.
The EO has yet to serve its purpose as it still lacks an inventory of exceptions and People’s Freedom of Information Manual. The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) must submit the inventory within 30 days since the EO was made, while executive government offices are directed to prepare the manual within 90 days from the effectivity of the order.
“While it’s still too early to call, I doubt that EO No. 2 would result in a qualitative change in terms of access to information, given the weaknesses I observed in the way the document was written,” said Prof. Danilo Arao of UP College of Mass Communication.
Specifying restrictions in the FOI has long stalled its passage in Congress, as the country’s lawmakers consistently fail to reconcile disagreements 29 years since the bill’s first version was filed.
In 2014, the Senate was able to pass their version of FOI known as Senate Bill 1733 or People’s Freedom of Information Act of 2013. On the other hand, the lower house version failed to even reach plenary discussions.
With the 17th Congress now in session, a new FOI bill has recently been filed in the House of Representatives by Cong. Karlo and Jericho Nograles of Davao, seven days after the EO was ordered.
As the people wait for an FOI passed in Congress, the media including the campus press can use the EO to improve their coverage and prevent violations against them. During former President Benigno Aquino’s term, the College Editors’ Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) monitored more than 800 cases of campus press freedom violations.
“One way to stop [violations] would be to use FOI EO to demand financial records of the university be accessible to the campus press. There is nothing in the EO that limits the press coverage. It is incumbent upon campus journalists to do their job based on professional and ethical standards,” Arao said.
More than passing the FOI bill, CEGP also seeks the passage of the Campus Press Freedom Bill to foster a free democratic atmosphere for student publications. ■
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