Sen. Grace Poe 鈥擲enate PRIB
Sen. Grace Poe on Friday underscored the importance of enacting a law on freedom of information (FOI) after Malaca帽ang expanded the restrictions of an executive order signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte that further limited public access to official records.
鈥淲hile an executive order on [FOI] is laudable, our overarching goal is to institutionalize it through a law,鈥� Poe told the Inquirer.
鈥淲e will continue to push for an FOI law鈥攐ne that gives more access to information than restrictions,鈥� she said.
Poe, who formerly headed the Senate public information and mass media committee, stressed that the people鈥檚 right to information 鈥渋s a sacred element in empowerment and democracy.鈥�
鈥淭ransparency,鈥� the senator said, 鈥渋s crucial to accountability.鈥�
鈥淲ithout transparency, our people cannot access the information needed to participate in effective governance,鈥� Poe added.
Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva echoed Poe鈥檚 view as he reiterated that transparency had always been a 鈥渂ig factor in keeping the people鈥檚 faith in the government.鈥�
鈥淭here is a need for Congress to open the discussion on the FOI bill to further set the parameters into the information that the public can gain access to,鈥� Villanueva said.
He said this was the reason why he had repeatedly filed the Freedom of Information Act since the 12th Congress when he was still part of the House of Representatives.
He then brought his advocacy to the upper chamber as he filed Senate Bill No. 933, or the proposed People鈥檚 Freedom of Information Act.