By Sasha Lim Uy
First posted: 9/27/08
First posted: 9/27/08
Updated: 10/1/08 5:58PM
MANILA, Philippines--The Freedom of Information Act of 2008 (FOI), otherwise known as House Bill 3732, is a bill that guarantees Filipinos the right to information regarding matters of public concern—if it gets passed.
In the Philippines, more than 50% of the voters in the 2010 national elections fall under the 18 to 22 age bracket. This is why it is crucial for the youth to have access to government information, said Atty. Eirene Aguila, chair of the youth-led, reform oriented group, Team RP.
“How can [the youth] as major stakeholders in the upcoming elections, be able to ensure the people we put into office would keep their promises?” said Team RP member Rafaela David.
David is a political science student at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU). Last March, Team RP was responsible for launching an online petition to forward the bill in the Congress.
“We will be the next generation of Filipinos who would bear the burden and privilege of shaping our history and future,” said David. She added that if there is no enabling law for accessing information, there would be no assurance for good governance and transparency in the administrations to come.
For Truth and Accountability Network executive director Vincent Lazatin, the FOI is the primary weapon against corruption.
“Corruption exists in countries because of lack of information,” he said. “Public officials are allowed to conduct their businesses behind closed doors therefore opportunities for corruption are there.”
Lazatin said many of the controversial issues in the Philippines such as the “Hello Garci” scandal where President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called a Commission on Elections official to check her standing in the 2004 elections, and the rift between the government and the guerilla group in Mindanao, were due to undisclosed
public information.“The [FOI] would remove that cover,” he said. “People could eventually find out what’s going on.”
Currently, the bill is being assessed in the Senate’s Committee on Public Information and Mass Media. Senate hearings for it have been postponed thrice.
Empowered citizens
“The youth live in an age of information technology,” said David. “Information drives our society today and would determine what our future would be.”
Although the youth comprise majority of the population, they are not in positions of power or influence, said Aguila. “So [the youth] don’t normally get access to information."
“What we want it to democratize information to make it more available to people who don’t have ready access to it,” she added.
“A citizenry, who can access government-held documents, would be empowered to engage the state and its policies,” said David. She said that such access gives citizens the power to check if the officials are really providing Filipinos public service.
ADMU political science student Phillip Recentes said, “Access to information is also the same as having access to education.” Recentes said that for education to flourish in the Philippines, the government should allow transparency through access to public information.
Citizens can only contribute to the country if they are well-informed—if they can scrutinize the government, said Aguila. “If they have no readily access to information, it’s very difficult,” she added. “You’ll have scandals left and right to get the truth out.”
“We don’t have to go through that channel,” said Aguila. “We want it to be a norm for information to be available and we don’t have to twist the government’s arm to get it.”
Youth movement
“In terms of demographics, the youth comprises a bulk of the population,” said Aguila. “If you get that bulk to pressure your legislators, that’s a big force they have to deal with in terms of having their positi
ons made with regards to the law.”Lazatin and Aguila said that the youth could help forward the FOI in the Senate.
“We want to make the senators feel that the people understand what the issue is, and to make them feel that it’s really important to get this passed,” said Aguila. She suggested that the youth can contact their senators.
“Most likely they’ll take one out of 10 requests, but if they get 10 requests a week that will probably send a flag to them saying that it’s important for them to take it up.”
Aguila said that the right to information is not as popular as other issues such as divorce or federalism; hence, they do not understand the FOI.
“[The youth] don’t understand that we’re the only democracy, or one of the only democracies, in the world that doesn’t have this, that doesn’t have a law that empowers us to actually participate in governance.”
Aguila said that FOI has to be popularized. “Those aware of the [FOI] and believe in the advocacy can help spread it into other organizations and fellow students,” said Lazatin.
This can be done through blogs, and writing in newspapers and to editors, said Aguila.
As Atty. Eirene Aguila said, the FOI is very crucial to the youth but how well
do the youth know and understand this bill?
See related story: Information access bill relies on citizens (9/27/08)
