PR
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar on Friday, July 19, urged Congress to prioritize the passage of the proposed Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, a bill that mandates full disclosure of public records.
“Kailangan po natin ng katuwang nito sa Kongreso at Senado. So, tayo po’y nagdarasal na sila po ay umaksyon din para gawing ganap na batas ito,” he said.
The said bill seeks to strengthen the practice of transparency through giving the public access on government transactions and documents. This will also aim eliminate incidence of corruption in government offices.
In a radio interview, Sec. Andanar mentioned FOI, if passed into law, will grant access to public records not only in the executive branch but in the legislative and judiciary branches as well.
He also mentioned the implemented Executive Order No. 2 that was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte prior to his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in 2016, requiring all offices in the executive branch to full disclosure of public records.
“Itong Executive Order na ito ay napakahalaga dahil ginawa po nitong very transparent yung ating national government at ang ating executive branch,” he said.
“Patuloy po ang kampanya laban sa kurapsyon at ito pong EO No. 2, ito po ay isa sa mga polisiya para mawala ang kurapsyon,” he further remarked.
The FOI bill was one of the priority measures of the administration that was approved by the House, however failed to hurdle the Senate in the 17th Congress due to lack of time.
PCOO Assistant Secretary and FOI-Program Management Office (FOI-PMO) Director Kristian Ablan has said that he hopes that the FOI bill will be enacted into law by 2020.
Currently, all national government agencies are 100% FOI-compliant.