[FYI in Inquirer] Palace defends omissions in Sona

by Michael Lim Ubac, Leila B. Salaverria Dona Z. Pazzibugan

From http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/451521/palace-defends-omissions-in-sona.

EXCERPT:

Malacañang on Tuesday defended the omission of issues that critics of President Aquino claimed should have been included in Monday’s State of the Nation Address (Sona), including the freedom of information (FOI) bill, maritime disputes with China, mining reforms, job creation and an economic road map for the second half of his term.

“Many are asking—not just necessarily about the FOI—but given the limited amount of time and if we heed these suggestions, it could take us two days listening to Sona,” said deputy press spokesperson Abigail Valte.

To appease everyone, she said that some had even suggested that the President make a checklist of all the sectors, and mention them all.

What Aquino delivered on Monday before the joint session of Congress was the longest by a sitting President since democracy was restored in 1986. The 55-page Sona consisted of 11,641 words and took the President one hour and 42 minutes to deliver in Filipino.

In an interview, Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office said that the Sona was couched in the language of Juan de la Cruz since it was meant to be “a teaching and learning opportunity.”

Responding to criticism that the speech was long on details but short on some of the more urgent concerns of the people, Coloma claimed the address was “very substantial.”

“I’m in the government and yet I continue to learn from his exposition of the major policies and decisions that have to be made,” he said.

Coloma said Aquino’s attention to detail led the President to spend time explaining why the government could not just buy a fighter jet, or hire en masse new police officers, or the necessity of implementing a fare hike for passengers of the state-subsidized elevated rail system in the metropolis.

Seal of transparency

On the silence of Aquino on the FOI bill, Coloma noted that the Senate passed its version in the last Congress, and that only the House of Representatives had stalled its passage.

However, he said that “in practice, the government is already implementing all those principles of transparency and accountability” via performance-based bonuses and a transparent budgeting process, among others. He said these principles were the “essence” of the FOI.

Coloma also explained why the Sona lacked a concrete set of action plans for job creation and economic growth even after Catholic bishops chided the administration for pursuing a jobless growth.

He said the basic road map for growth was in the Philippine Development Plan. “For every outcome, there are performance indicators. The National Economic and Development Authority has embarked upon an updating of all performance indicators, and we’ll complete it by December,” he said.

Freedom of information

“FOI may not have been mentioned in the Sona, but the premise for FOI was latent throughout his talk on the tuwid na daan (straight path),” said Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat. This means the bill’s supporters have every reason to push their campaign for the bill’s passage, he said.

“I’d tell my fellow advocates to praise P-Noy for addressing corruption even from his own appointees in the National Irrigation Administration, and immigration and customs bureau,” he said. “Then we can justify the lobby for FOI by saying that if we had the law, there would be less corruption woes in the customs and other offices.”

The FOI Youth Initiative (FYI) said it would intensify its lobbying efforts to secure passage of the measure.

“With or without the FOI in the Sona, we will remain steadfast in our campaign for the enactment of this important piece of legislation. While we still hope that the President realizes the need for the FOI law to ensure broader citizens’ participation in governance and development, we don’t have the luxury of time to wait, especially in light of recent issues involving public funds allegedly being spent on bogus organizations,” Nic Angeles of FYI said in a statement.

The FOI bill seeks to strengthen public access to government data and transactions in order to improve transparency and accountability. It has been touted as a tool to combat corruption. President Aquino said during his election campaign that he would support the FOI bill.

[FYI in TV5 / Interaksyon] OFW, FOI, EJK | What the SONA left out

by Lira Dalangin-Fernandez

From http://www.interaksyon.com/article/67024/ofw-foi-ejk--what-the-sona-left-out.

MANILA, Philippines -- Overseas Filipino workers, the Freedom of Information Bill and extrajudicial killings. These were some of the key issues President Benigno Aquino III failed to mention in his close to two-hour state of the nation address Monday.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is also presidential adviser on OFW concerns, said while he was satisfied with the SONA, noted the lack of recognition of the country’s overseas workers.

"I am satisfied. Mayroon lamang ibang bagay na nawaglit … iyong OFWs, ang tulong na ipinakita ng ating pamahalaan (But were some things omitted … the OFWs, the assistance given them by government)," Binay said.

"Baka kulang sa oras, pero malaki talaga ang naitulong din ng ating OFWs. Remittances natin increasing ‘yan, at tuluy-tuloy na isang dahilan kaya gumanda ang ekonomiya natin ay dahil tumataas ang remittances (There may not have been enough time, but our OFWs have helped a lot. Our remittances are increasing, and one reason why our economy continues to improve is because of increasing remittances)," he added.

Several lawmakers and advocates also expressed dismay over Aquino’s failure to mention, again, the FOI bill, which he had promised to push when he campaigned for the presidency but which he has never mentioned in any of his previous SONAs.

"While he was talking about Secretary Jesse Robredo and tuwid na daan (the straight path), I thought that would have been the ideal segue for bills such as FOI. But he didn't mention it," Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat said.

Akbayan party-list Representative Ibarra Gutierrez said: "When the President talked about ensuring accountability and transparency in government service, that was the perfect opportunity to talk about FOI."

"After all, FOI will institutionalize daang matuwid. It will allow ordinary people to hold to account public offices after 2016, in the same manner the President is doing so now," he said.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines also took Aquino to task for ignoring the FOI bill, saying, “For all his lofty vows to weed out corruption, never did he mention that which would truly arm and empower the people to join the battle for genuinely good governance -- the freedom of information, that which he, time and again promised when he sought our votes and then so conveniently forgot once he came to power."

The media organization also noted that, in a lengthy presentation of “what he claims to have accomplished, and rhetoric about the path he would take us down," Aquino made no mention “of human rights and the impunity with which these continue to be violated under his watch, as the bloody list of journalists, activists, environmentalists, religious, lawyers, indigenous people and many others whose lives have been snuffed out for simply deigning to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed freedoms continues to grow."

The NUJP said what Aquino left out of his SONA “forebodes the course he has charted for his remaining three years: one laden with more broken promises and, consequently, more bloodshed."

In a separate statement, the FOI Youth Initiative said it was unfazed by the President's "snub" of the FOI bill in his speech.

The group said they would continue to push for the measure in Congress.  

[FYI in freedominfo.org, the Global Network of FOI Advocates] Aquino Doesn’t Mention FOI Legislation in Major Speech

From http://www.freedominfo.org/2013/07/aquino-doesnt-mention-foi-legislation-in-major-speech/.

Despite a stress on fighting corruption, Philippines President Benigno Aquino did not mention pending freedom of information legislation in his annual State of the National address (Sona) July 22

Aquino talked for one hour and 44 minutes, with 88 applause breaks, and managing to mention 65 specific topics, according to one media count.

Freedom of information wasn’t one of them.

“There was no mention of the freedom of information bill, which would have cemented the Aquino administration’s push for transparency and accountability…,” commented the Manila Standard in an editorial.

Another editorial, in the Inquirer said:

The President’s inability or unwillingness to make good on his campaign commitment to enact a Freedom of Information law in his first three years imperils the good governance platform he has himself tried to entrench. The time to push FOI is today, the first day of the first session of the 16th Congress; a paragraph in the Sona would spread the word to his reluctant allies.

Former Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno was quoted in the Business Mirror as lamenting the failute to mention the FOI bill. “Too wordy. Lots of numbers, but sadly lacking in a concrete program of addressing the high and worsening joblessness problem. The FOI bill was conspicuously left out. I consider it an important aspect of openness and fiscal accountability,” Diokno said. 

On July 20, the FOI Youth Initiative, a network of 120 youth organizations pushing the passage of the Freedom of Information bill, said a mentuon of the bill by Aquino “may catalyze the favorable action that we want to see on the part of the Executive.”

“The FOI Youth Initiative (FYI) believes that the real State of the Nation can only be known if we have Freedom of Information,” the group said in a statement. “Beyond hearing the words of the President, access to information held by the government on matters of public interest should be ensured to enable the people to build and shape their own view of the true state of Philippine society.”

As Congress reconvenes, FOI bills are being introduced and supporters are hoping a more supportive person will be picked to lead the key House committee. Although the Aquino administration agreed to a compromise bill last year, no legislation was passed and many supporters felt the administration failed to support it politically and tactically despite Aquino’s record of supporting it during his campaigns.

[FYI in Rappler] #SONA2013: Youth groups disappointed

by David Lozada

From http://www.rappler.com/nation/special-coverage/sona/2013/34581-youth-groups-disappointed-sona.

EXCERPT:

Silence on FOI

The FOI Youth Initiative (FYI), a nationwide alliance of 122 youth and student groups lobbying for the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, also expressed their disappointment that FOI was not mentioned in the President’s SONA.

READ: Youth groups on SONA: Pass FOI bill

FYI national convener Allan Pangilinan said the FOI bill should be the Aquino administration’s priority.

“We cannot be fully aware of the true state of the nation without freedom of information...The FOI should be the centerpiece of the platform of an Administration that continuously calls for accountability among its officials,” Pangilinan said.

Nic Angeles of the UP Diliman College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (UP-CSSP) said the FOI is key to Aquino’s matuwid na daan.

“In order for citizens to be partners in the Aquino Administration’s ‘daang matuwid’, it is imperative that we are empowered by a law that institutionalizes transparency in public offices,” Angeles said.

TRANSPARENCY. FYI members submit their manifesto to the Senators
a week before the SONA. Photo from FYI's Facebook page

‘Unfazed’

FYI plans to intensify its lobbying efforts in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

“With or without the FOI in the SONA, we will remain steadfast in our campaign for the enactment of this important piece of legislation,” Angeles said.

Pangilinan said that FYI hope to get more legislators to support their position.

FYI hopes to engage the new Chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Information (CPI). The House is expected to announce its new committee chairpersons within the week.

FYI hopes the bill will be passed in the 16th Congress.

“While we still hope that the President realizes the need for the FOI Law to ensure broader citizens’ participation in governance and development, we don’t have the luxury of time to wait, especially in light of recent issues involving public funds allegedly being spent on bogus organizations,” Angeles said. -Rappler.com

Youth Manifesto for the Passage of the People's Freedom of Information Act in the 16th Congress (ILOCANO)

Dakami nga FOI Youth Initiative (FYI) maysa nga nailian nga gunglo iti agtutubo ken organisayon dagiti agad-adal, dawaten mi ti nalawag nga pinagtaray ti gobyerno ken annongen da dagiti agserserbi iti gobyerno ti nadaras nga pannakaipasa ti People's Freedom of Information Act.

Dakami ket makikaysa kadagiti nadumaduma nga sektor iti kagimongan nga mang-gun-od iti nalawag nga mekanismo maar-aramid ti panangimaton iti turay, nawaya ken husto nga pangidaulo kadagiti umili.

Ikalinteganmi nga rebbeng mi ti mangammo kadagiti amin nga maar-aramid ken transakyon iti gobyerno kas naisaad sadiay konstitusyon, tapno magarantisaran iti kinalawag dagiti magidadaulo ken opisyales tapno agbalinda nga pagtuladan san ketdi nga isuda ti mangtubeng ti nasayaat nga pannakaipagna ti gobyerno.

Mamati kami nga ti People's FOI Act ket maysa nga addang tapno mapasardeng ti korupsyon ken naan-anay ti tinnulong nga mangpadur-as kadagiti umili.

Kontraenmi ti pannakairaman ti saan nga constitutional ken saan nga umannamong iti wayawaya ti Press, ti Right of Reply rides iti FOI Bill gapu ta ikkataten na ti esensya ti linteg a mapapigsa ti pannakaamo kadagiti tattao ti husto nga mapaspasamak.

Dawdawaten mi ken Presidente Benigno S. Aquino III, tapno kitaen na nga nalaing saan ket a simple a suporta laeng para iti panakaipasa ti FOI Bill tapno iti kasta maidanon na met la ti karina a panagbalbaliw kadagiti tattao.

Umap-apela kami pay iti amin a Senador ken Congressman tapno ipriyoridad da nga adalen ti inda pinagtataripnong iti FOI Bill ken wayaanda da dagiti manglaplapped kadaytoy nga gakat.

Kamaudiananna, dakayo nga pada mi nga agtutubo ken agad-adal, intayo koma agkaykaysa nga mangirupir iti pannakaipasa ti People's FOI Act, tapno agbalinen nga naan-anay nga linteg tapno iti kasta ti gobyerno tayo ti paggappuan ti talek dagiti umili.

[List of Signatories]

[FYI in Rappler] Youth groups on SONA: Pass FOI bill

by David Lozada

From http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/34352-youth-sona-pass-foi.

TIME FOR ACTION. FOI Youth Initiative members join other advocates
in filing the 'People's FOI Bill.' Photo from FYI Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines - Youth groups called on President Benigno Aquino III to pass the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill days before his State of the Nation Address.

In a statement issued on July 19, the FOI Youth Initiative (FYI), a nationwide network of youth and student organizations, said the passage of the bill is crucial to government transparency.

“The real State of the Nation can only be known if we have Freedom of Information,” the youth group said.

FYI maintained that access to information is a key component in building the future of the country.

“Beyond hearing the words of the President, access to information held by the government on matters of public interest should be ensured to enable the people to build and shape their own view of the true state of Philippine society,” the group added.

The group noted that while the Aquino administration has expressed support for the FOI bill, no concrete steps have been taken.

“Mentioning the bill in the upcoming SONA may catalyze the favorable action that we want to see on the part of the executive,” the group added.

Growing support

FYI joined the Right to Know. Right now! coalition in filing the People’s FOI Bill on July 1.

READ: Youth groups support ‘People’s FOI bill’

From 88 organizations, their network of student and youth organizations has grown to 116 in a span of 3 weeks. (See full list: Youth4FOI partner organizations)

Allan Pangilinan of the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Social Sciences and Philosophy Council (UPD CSSPC) said that the FOI should be an integral part of the youth’s concerns.

“As student leaders now, we want to inherit a government that is open and honest to the people that it serves,” he added.

The youth group had also been sending copies of their manifesto to the offices of senators.

Nic Angeles of the UPD-CSSPSC said the group is hopeful senators will support them.

“In the past, most of the senators were supportive of the measure. We sincerely hope that the Senate will once again deliver on FOI, especially because many of those who won in the recent elections expressed their desire for the bill’s enactment,” Angeles said.

NATIONWIDE CAMPAIGN. FYI members create strategies to
reach out to more youth groups. Photo from FYI Facebook page

Transparency for all

If signed into law, the Freedom of Information bill will allow Filipinos to access information under the control of government — contracts, budgets and Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Networth of public servants.

In the 15th Congress, the bill failed to reach plenary.

Pangilinan urged the President to fulfill his campaign promise 3 years ago.

“The administration’s ‘daang matuwid’ can never be possible without a law that guarantees the institutionalization of concrete mechanisms for transparency and accountability. From ZTE-NBN to the PDAF scam, if we had an FOI Law, it would be easier for us to pave the way for the elimination of corruption,” he said. -Rappler.com

[FYI in PCIJ] True State of Nation unknown without FOI in place

From http://pcij.org/blog/2013/07/19/true-state-of-nation-unknown-without-foi-in-place.

ON MONDAY, July 22, President Benigno S. Aquino III delivers his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) to the country. In it, the President is expected to give his perspective of the true state of affairs of government, the country, and its people as he enters the fourth year of his Presidency.

But a youth group says that without a true Freedom of Information (FOI) Act in place, the true state of the nation will never be known by the public.

The FOI Youth Initiative, a network of 120 youth organizations pushing the passage of the Freedom of Information bill, says it hopes that President Aquino will finally endorse, or at least mention, the FOI bill in Monday’s SONA.

The group says that a mere mention of the FOI in the SONA “may catalyze the favorable action that we want to see on the part of the Executive.”

“The FOI Youth Initiative (FYI) believes that the real State of the Nation can only be known if we have Freedom of Information,” the group said in a statement. “Beyond hearing the words of the President, access to information held by the government on matters of public interest should be ensured to enable the people to build and shape their own view of the true state of Philippine society.”

“Hindi natin ganap na malalaman ang tunay na State of the Nation kung walang Freedom of Information,” the group added.

The FYI is part of the Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition, a network of 150 organizations pushing for the immediate passage of the FOI. The network has been lobbying unsuccessfully for the passage of the FOI for the last four Congresses. However, while the Senate has consistently been warm to the idea of an FOI measure, members of the House of Representatives have repeatedly blocked the bill’s passage.

Pro-FOI groups were heartened by the victory of Benigno Aquino III in the 2010 Presidential elections, since Aquino had repeatedly stated his support for the measure. However, the President has since proven cold to the FOI bill, raising several concerns over coverage of security issues, as well as alleged abuses by the media. Taking their cue from the Palace, administration congressmen have also delayed or blocked passage of the bill, saying that even the President does not seem interested in the measure.

This, even though a study group precisely created by the President to hammer out concerns over the FOI bill had already recommended its own version of the bill.

Earlier, members of the Right to Know Right Now! Coalition filed a petition for an indirect initiative for a People’s FOI Bill, taking advantage of a law that allows ordinary citizens to propose their own laws to Congress.

[FYI in the Inquirer] Solons hope FOI will be part of Aquino’s national address

by Karen Boncocan

From http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/448307/solons-hope-foi-will-be-part-of-aquinos-national-address#ixzz2ZTS5iJbh.

MANILA, Philippines—Pro-Freedom of Information Bill lawmakers on Friday said they hoped the controversial measure would make it to President Benigno Aquino III’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“I expect the President to discuss the FOI Bill in his SONA,” said Diwa Partylist Representative Emmeline Aglipay.

Aglipay was recently endorsed by fellow pro-FOI lawmakers for the public information committee chairmanship–a position they felt was integral in their plans to push for the controversial measure in the 16th Congress.

“In order for the President to be truly committed to fighting corruption he should prioritize the enactment of a law that ensures transparency and promotes accountability,” she told INQUIRER.net.

The FOI Bill hurdled deliberations in the Senate in the 15th Congress but failed to be passed by the House of Representatives.

After facing delays in the House committee on public information, the measure was stalled in the plenary and was not even debated on.

Lawmakers supporting its passage in the lower chamber of Congress noted how the FOI Bill was not mentioned in the President’s third SONA.

They hoped this time would be different.

Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat Jr. said that there would always be an “incessant clamor” for the President to declare the measure a priority in every SONA.

“Every SONA, every LEDAC, every presidential policy declaration, there will always be that incessant clamor for FOI being declared a priority,” he said.

Cibac Partylist Representative Sherwin Tugna felt that it “would be a good sign for the bill’s chances of being a law if it would be included as a priority measure in the 16th Congress.”

But even if the FOI Bill does not make it to the President’s fourth SONA, Baguilat said that advocates of its passage would be unfazed.

He maintained that they have been focused on pushing for the bill “from the get-go even without it being mentioned in the SONA.”

“It’s still one of the priorities of this administration to pass the FOI,” he maintained.

Taking their cue from those who pushed for the approval and enactment of the Reproductive Health Law, Baguilat said he felt that they still had to “galvanize a majority of our colleagues in the House.”

He said that they also had to work on getting more support from the public “before we can realistically ask Malacañang or the House leadership to help push it.”

A manifestation of this effort to get the public’s support for the FOI Bill was the 120 youth and student organizations that have joined forces as the FOI Youth Initiative (FYI).

Although the group has been active in the past Congress, it said that it has intensified its efforts to get the youth’s support for the measure.

In a statement, the FYI said it “believes that the real State of the Nation can only be known if we have Freedom of Information.”

“While the administration has expressed support for the FOI Bill, we have yet to see anything positively concrete. Perhaps mentioning the bill in the upcoming SONA may catalyze the favorable action that we want to see on the part of the Executive,” the group said.

But like the pro-FOI lawmakers, the FYI said that the possibility of the President failing to mention the bill on Monday will change “nothing in our steadfast desire in carrying out the youth’s campaign for the People’s FOI.”