Social Accountability
Right to Know. Right Now!
Information maybe neutral, but if it is not being harvested by the public, it can become a tool to further circumvent accountability. One of the key pillars of social accountability is access to information. In the Philippines, this right is guaranteed by the constitution (Bill of Rights, Article III, Section 7). But since the ratification of the constitution 20 years ago, the exercise of this right remains at the discretion of public officials.
Key sectors such as the media, and citizen groups and the citizens in general continually feel that government offices do not see disclosure of information as an obligation that they have to fulfill. Instead, those delivering public services imply that those asking for public documents have "utang na loob" (debt of gratitude) to them. This demand for key information is crucial to exacting accountability.
For almost a decade now, civil society organizations have been struggling to pass a freedom of information act that will turn the paradigm towards a government that progressively discloses public information from the current situation of a government with a penchant for invoking executive privilege and confidentiality.
The Access to Information Network (ATIN) has been lobbying for the passage of a Freedom of Information Act that will serve as the implementing legislation for this constitutional right for three Congresses now.
Key features of the bill include an expansive coverage, clear and standard procedures for accessing information, a legal presumption in favor of access to information, and criminal liabilities. The bill hopes to create a situation wherein public agencies can no longer arbitrarily deny requests for information and to empower the citizens to demand information and insist that in cases of denial the public agency should be able to justify to them why. It also hopes to ease, if not totally eliminate, the burden from citizens of explaining why the information is being requested and for what purpose it will be used.
Fortunately, in the 14th Congress the bill was passed in the lower house and the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media will soon release its Committee Report. This is the closest that ATIN reached in their advocacy.
The group for the past Congresses has tried to pass the bill under the radar but for the last push, it has since expanded its network through the "Right to Know. Right Now!" campaign. It intends to get more public support to urge this Congress and the President to enact this bill into law.
Information maybe neutral, but if it is not being harvested by the public, it can become a tool to further circumvent accountability. One of the key pillars of social accountability is access to information. In the Philippines, this right is guaranteed by the constitution (Bill of Rights, Article III, Section 7). But since the ratification of the constitution 20 years ago, the exercise of this right remains at the discretion of public officials.
Key sectors such as the media, and citizen groups and the citizens in general continually feel that government offices do not see disclosure of information as an obligation that they have to fulfill. Instead, those delivering public services imply that those asking for public documents have "utang na loob" (debt of gratitude) to them. This demand for key information is crucial to exacting accountability.
For almost a decade now, civil society organizations have been struggling to pass a freedom of information act that will turn the paradigm towards a government that progressively discloses public information from the current situation of a government with a penchant for invoking executive privilege and confidentiality.
The Access to Information Network (ATIN) has been lobbying for the passage of a Freedom of Information Act that will serve as the implementing legislation for this constitutional right for three Congresses now.
Key features of the bill include an expansive coverage, clear and standard procedures for accessing information, a legal presumption in favor of access to information, and criminal liabilities. The bill hopes to create a situation wherein public agencies can no longer arbitrarily deny requests for information and to empower the citizens to demand information and insist that in cases of denial the public agency should be able to justify to them why. It also hopes to ease, if not totally eliminate, the burden from citizens of explaining why the information is being requested and for what purpose it will be used.
Fortunately, in the 14th Congress the bill was passed in the lower house and the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media will soon release its Committee Report. This is the closest that ATIN reached in their advocacy.
The group for the past Congresses has tried to pass the bill under the radar but for the last push, it has since expanded its network through the "Right to Know. Right Now!" campaign. It intends to get more public support to urge this Congress and the President to enact this bill into law.