Although the Freedom of Information bill did not get to the Senate plenary before the session adjourned on 5 June 2009, the Access to Information Network (ATIN) considered the submission of the Committee Report a milestone in its advocacy.
Committee Report 534 containing Senate Bill 3308 or the consolidated version of the Freedom of Information Bill was submitted to the plenary for discussion on 3 June 2009 but was buried by other issues until the session adjourned.
While the submission of the Committee Report was indeed an achievement, ATIN remains anxious with the narrowing opportunity for the bill to be passed because of various factors.
One is the upcoming 2010 presidential election which left most Senators day- dreaming about their political ambitions. Another is the Constituent Assembly that successfully gained ground in the Senate and kept them busy responding to House of Representatives' illusion.
A sex scandal that surprisingly (or not surprisingly) reached the Senate also merited a series of hearings.
So ATIN intensified its campaign by tapping more civil society organizations to help push for the passage of the bill.
In a forum on 26 May 2009, thirty three (33) organizations representing the farmers, women, church, media, business, overseas Filipino workers and youth, committed to support the advocacy.
The participants signed a joint statement calling for the immediate passage of the bill which was presented in a press conference on 27 May 2009.
The Women's Legal Bureau, Inc., EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Campaign Network- Philippines, Lady Local Legislators' League and Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK), the Alliance for Progressive Labor and Team RP sent separate letters to the Senate supporting the FOI bill.
MAN TO MAN
In a meeting on 10 June 2009, ATIN decided to do a "man to man" strategy among Senators while keeping up with the other activities to popularize the necessity of having an FOI law.
YOUTH FOR PEACE
One of which was ATIN's participation in the Youth for Peace Concert/Forum on 12 June 2009 where a booth on Freedom of Information was put up. Mr. Vincent Lazatin, Executive Director, Transparency and Accountability Network and ATIN co-convenor, explained the salient features of the FOI bill and its relevance to more than a hundred young people.
In response, the participants signed a manifesto calling the Senators to immediately pass the bill.
Excerpt from TAN May- June 2009 newsletter, downloadable under the Resources tab in this website.
You can also download a copy of Senate Bill 3308 or the Freedom of Information bill and a Primer about the bill from the Resources tab in this website.