Widening Access to Information

The 1987 Philippine Constitution guarantees freedom of access to information. The courts have also, since the fall of Marcos, tended to rule in favor of the citizen's right to know. There is still, however, widespread denial of access to information on matters of public interest and disclosure procedures are also often unclear, leaving access erratic.

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism strives to test the guarantees of information access and has experienced varying degrees of difficulty in accessing public documents. Very recently, the PCIJ was denied access to the statements of assets and liabilities of the Supreme Court justices, the same documents that the PCIJ has been able to access in the past.

Three bills have been filed in the House of Representatives seeking to widen access to information. Two counterpart bills have been filed in the Senate. By establishing a uniform, speedy, and effective means of accessing information and instituting penalty for unlawful denial of access, citizens will be granted easier access to information on matters of public concern.

Thailand, for example, passed an Official Information Act in 1997 as part of democratic reforms that were institutionalized after the fall of the authoritarian regime. That law sets procedures for allowing citizens access to a wide range of information.

In the Philippines, lawmakers, civil society, and media groups are pushing for a law that will complement the constitutional guarantees and existing jurisprudence. Such appropriate legislation will provide teeth to the scant provisions of RA 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. For example, while RA 6713 obligates the full disclosure of assets of government officials and other matters of public concern, it does not clearly define the grounds for disclosure of information that are defined as confidential and classified.

Groups advocating for an information law assert that a government which has nothing to hide should not be afraid of an informed and enlightened citizenry. They affirm that the people's right to know is an indispensable element of a functioning democracy. By ensuring a freer flow of information, citizens can better participate in state affairs and watch the excesses of the government.

Since the opening of the 13th Congress, three bills have been filed at the House of Representatives. House Bill Nos. 784, 2123, and 2993, all of them entitled Freedom of Access to Information Act of 2004, promote a comprehensive coverage of access to information. House bills 784 and 2993 both include a provision for certain types of information that should be exempted from the law such as those involving matters of national security. HB 2123, meanwhile, seeks full disclosure of all official information and prohibits the withholding of information even on grounds of national security, public order and safety or when the information is specifically exempted from disclosure by any other statute, common law and international law principles, and pertinent jurisprudence. The bill seeks to simplify the limitations to the following: "Except when it is clear that the purpose of the examination is to abet or promote or commit criminal acts defined and/or enumerated in existing statutes or to engage in sheer and idle curiosity."

The bills also require compliance within two to five working days except in unusual circumstances when a request, for example, requires the examination of several, separate, and distinct records. The penalty for withholding a document would be a fine of not more than P20,000 or imprisonment of at least six months and one day but not more than six years.

These initiatives are hardly new, as similar measures have been filed in past Congresses. In the 12th Congress, six bills on access to information were filed and later consolidated into one bill. That bill, HB 6771, however, remained pending with the Committee on Rules after the Committee on Public Information submitted its report. The Senate, for its part, filed four bills on access to information, all of them pending before the Committee on Public Information.

During the 11th Congress, Reps. Gerardo Espina and Harlin Abayon sponsored a similar bill, HB 8947, which was approved on its third reading. But the bill did not prosper when a counterpart measure filed by Sen. Juan Flavier never got past the Committee on Public Information after the first reading.

All the three bills filed in the House of Representatives today are pending before the Committee on Public Information where they were referred to after first reading. In the Senate, a counterpart SB 776 was filed by Sen. Manny Villar and another bill, SB 1112, was introduced by Sen. Franklin Drilon. Both are pending before the chamber's Committee on Public Information.

Southeast Asia’s Uneven Information Landscape