President Benigno Aquino III marked his fourth year in office yesterday with a slate of promises old and new, of continuing efforts to clean house, and tons of reconstruction projects brought about by two major disasters, among other things.
While there have been solid achievements —the signing of the peace pact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the successful impeachment of former chief justice Renato Corona and the ongoing pork barrel investigations on the lawmakers and trial of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and so on—there’s one crucial piece of legislation that the President has failed to lobby.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) which often came close to being relegated to the dustbin by the Aquino administration and insecure legsilators, recently got a shot in the arm thanks to the lobbying efforts of Sen. Grace Poe and tireless efforts of media organizations and advocacy groups to have it passed by Congress and signed into law.
Why a leader who obviously had the means and resources to rally support for a bill that he favors and considers part of his agenda—the Reproductive Health Law is one clear example which didn’t lack stringent opposition from the Church—would voice reservations, let alone support initiatives and provisions that would limit the exercise of freedom of speech like the Right to Reply bill remains a puzzle.
There’s no small irony in President Aquino’s opposition to the FOI considering the fact that the President’s father did work as a young correspondent covering the Korean war and his youngest sister Kris is practically a media maven, being dubbed “Queen of All Media.”
Yet when it comes to a law that would not only help ferret out graft and underground, under-the-table corruption that he and his administration have sworn to wipe out, the President is not only hesitant but actually opposes its passage on grounds or his own fears that it may lead to abuse.
All laws are subject to abuse and the President himself knows that as well as anyone else so that argument is about as flimsy as not using fire or electricity because it can destroy houses.
The law empowers every right-minded citizen to look into public records and demand accountability from government offices and officials who hide behind the veil of “national security” or the seemingly bottomless well of red tape to justify withdrawal and non-disclosure of details about projects, laws programs and the use of public funds that affect the way we live.
It’s high time the President sets aside his reservations and heeds public clamor to sign the FOI bill, not tomorrow or the next few months or the last days of his term but now.
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