The group also congratulated Quezon Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III, chair of the technical working group on the bill in the House, who with the help of CIBAC party-list Rep. Joel Villanueva and other lawmakers efficiently pushed for the bill’s passage before the first regular session of the 14th Congress closed in 2008.

Journalists and civil rights activists will troop to the Senate on Monday to push for the passage of a landmark Freedom of Information Act before Congress goes on recess on Friday.

Members of the multi-sectoral Right to Know. Right Now! network—which includes journalists, academics, students and members of public interest groups and nongovernment organizations—will march on the Senate in Pasay City to thank the senators for passing Senate Bill 3308, or the Freedom of Information Act, on second reading last week.

“With its passage on second reading, SB 3308 remains alive and the country is now a giant step closer to the passage of a progressive and responsive freedom of information act,” the group said in a statement.

The coalition urged the senators to approve the bill on third reading and for both the Senate and the House of Representatives to convene the bicameral conference committee and approve the measure for signing into law by the President.

“The Freedom of Information Act will be a significant and lasting contribution of the 14th Congress to political and governance reform in the country, to benefit our generation and the generations to come,” the group said.

According to the group, the right to information has been held by the courts to be executory, “but it is difficult to enforce in practice.”

The coalition said the Freedom of Information Act would make the constitutional right to know and the state policy of full disclosure of transactions involving the public interest “fully operable.”

The group said the proposed law would provide a standard procedure for dealing with requests, and clarify the exact scope of the right. It provides implementing mechanisms for the automatic disclosure of key government transactions. It also puts in place effective sanctions to deter or make accountable the violation of the right.

“We cannot overemphasize the vital role that the Freedom of Information Act will play in the maturation of Philippine society and politics. Freedom of information gives flesh to the principle that public office is a public trust. Without proper information, we cannot hold public officials accountable for anything,” it added.

The marchers will assemble on the Film Center grounds at 9:30 a.m. Monday before proceeding to the Senate building nearby. The network cited the chairman of the Senate committee on public information, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, for “decisively shepherding the bill through the committee process,” and together with Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, for taking it forward in plenary.

The group also congratulated Quezon Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III, chair of the technical working group on the bill in the House, who with the help of CIBAC party-list Rep. Joel Villanueva and other lawmakers efficiently pushed for the bill’s passage before the first regular session of the 14th Congress closed in 2008.

But the bill still needs to go through the bicameral conference committee, which will reconcile the House and Senate versions of the bill, it noted.

The group said the reconciled bill must then be approved by both houses before the lawmakers adjourn for the elections. Congress takes a Christmas break on Dec. 18, and based on the legislative calendar, only nine session days remain between Jan. 18 when Congress resumes sessions and Feb. 5 when it adjourns.

Source: PDI (Inquirer Headlines/Nation) by Philip C. Tubeza, December 14, 2009