Freedom of information bill taken off Palace list again

The Freedom of Information bill, one of President Benigno Aquino III’s campaign promises, again failed to make the cut for the second Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council meeting today.



Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Mr. Aquino wanted more time to study and flesh out the bill, and disagreed with Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño’s statement that today’s council meeting was Mr. Aquino’s last chance to redeem himself by giving priority to that bill and ensuring its passage.



“This is not the last chance we’ve got to prioritize the bill,” Lacierda said.



“We still have four years and 11 months to go. There will be several [council] meetings along the way, so let us not put a period when there is still a long way off.’’



The Palace version of the that bill would create an independent Information Commission with its own budget and quasi-judicial functions such as the power to subpoena. The commission would be the “arbiter” between the government and any party questioning the bill’s enforcement.



The freedom-of-information bill seeks to give substance to a Constitutional provision guaranteeing the people’s access to information.



Lacierda could not give a categorical answer when asked if the responsible-parenthood bill would suffer the same fate.



Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the President “asked for more time to study” the administration’s responsible-parenthood bill seeking to give the public equal access to both natural and artificial family planning methods.



”The President said he will have to think about it further because of some concerns,” Abad said.



Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said a proposed bill on the Armed Forces’ pension program would likely not be included pending a report from the Government Service Insurance System in September.

by Joyce Pangco Pañares