The credibility of President Aquino’s campaign to curb corruption came into serious doubt last week with the continued delay of the passage of the Freedom of Information bill in the House of Representatives. The inaction of the House committee on public information, headed ironically by a former news reporter, Rep. Ben Evardonne of Eastern Samar, exposed a serious flaw in Aquino’s own credibility and in his much-ballyhooed reform agenda.
While the House took just a few days to summon signatures from 188 congressmen on the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona and to bring the case to the Senate for trial, it has been more than two years since a new FOI bill was filed by Deputy Speaker Erin Tanada and it is still rotting in Evardonne’s committee.
Aquino moved mountains to make sure Corona is impeached and found guilty because he said it was crucial to his efforts to curb corruption, but wouldn’t lift a finger to certify the FOI measure as urgent although he promised during the campaign to pass a Freedom of Information Act that, more than the impeachment of a chief justice, would ensure government transparency and accountability.
One wonders why the Cybercrime Prevention Law that punishes libel in cyberspace with a 12-year imprisonment and P1 million fine, passed Congress smoothly and signed into law immediately by Aquino when the FOI bill has been pending for years.
The hypocrisy is matched only by the duplicity of some congressmen who have the power of life and death over the FOI bill. Evardonne, who was one of the most avid allies and defenders of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo while serving as Eastern Samar governor and head of the provincial governors league, is now Aquino’s ally and defender and is obviously acting on orders of the President to delay action on the measure.
How can one be a reporter for many years and not understand the importance of a bill that seeks to give access to the press and the public to vital government documents? How can one who unabashedly echoes Aquino’s fight against corruption not want a law that would ensure government transparency and accountability?
The way Evardonne is delaying action on the bill is even laughable. After sitting on the bill for more than a year, he says no room was available in the House for the committee meeting that would tackle the bill. And then, when the panel was finally able to meet, the members spent so much time discussing two other matters, and Evardonne allowed Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo Antonino to consume the remaining time to pursue the inclusion of his Right to Reply rider in the measure. When Tanada demanded that a vote be made, Evardonne protested that the bill had to be discussed some more and abruptly adjourned the meeting.
Malacanang, of course, denied it had anything to do with the delay in the passage of the bill. And yet, there are disturbing reports that Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa had personally asked House members to let the bill expire. The Palace said it has submitted to the House its own version of the measure. Whether or not the Malacanang bill is a watered-down version is still unknown, but judging on the deliberate delay on the Tanada bill, it is almost certain the Palace version is nothing close to the original.
Aquino’s aversion to the FOI bill is understandable considering that since he took office in 2010, he has been blaming media each time his approval rating slips. He raised the bar on government officials when he vowed to fight corruption and to follow a “daang matuwid,” and yet he cannot tolerate the media’s exposing venalities in government. If he truly believes his Cabinet and his agencies are following the straight path, why is Aquino so afraid of a Freedom of Information Act?
He didn’t mind bashing the sitting Chief Justice, the former Vice President, and a ranking government official in public, and yet cries foul each time his actions are criticized. Aquino wants a different standard for himself, and another one for media?
Congress needs to pass the FOI bill because the Constitution’s Bill of Rights explicitly recognizes the people’s right to matters of public concern. The Philippines, which boasts of one of the freest press in the world, remains one of the few countries still without a Freedom of Information law. That such a measure has been stalled under an administration that boasts of transparency and the “daang matuwid” is simply unacceptable.
(valabelgas@aol.com)
