I Support the Passage of the Freedom of Information Bill

The Philippine Government has constantly been challenged of  futile bureaucracy, corruption, dysfunctional political dynasties, and patronage politics. Our government has never been free from all these issues occurring almost every day, in all degrees and forms. To a certain extent, the government is associated with negative connotations simply because the major controversies that have been happening through time gradually lose the trust of the electorate, and the Filipino people in general. After the biggest syndicate in Congress through the PDAF scam, the trust of the people drastically slimmed down that no achievement of the government would already being back the same trust that people once had towards them. Despite the efforts that our government may exert more, tendency is that people would start questioning every angle of these mobilizations, and end up being overly meticulous to search even for a minor flaw. Then, the cycle goes on. Controversies would arise one after another, no matter how petty these issues would be, simply because Filipinos are more intelligent now. We no longer want to fall into inhumane ploys of corrupt politicians dominating the what we call as the unit that would bring order and justice in the Philippine soil.

            With all these said, the call for transparency in government shall come to its peak. We do not want another Napoles to employ public funds brought by the sweat and tears of our countrymen. We do not want to see another Enrile, Estrada, or Revilla whose families lavishly live their lives in grandeur mansions and luxurious cars, while millions of our brothers and sisters would even fight for a space under a bridge only to find a place to sleep. The people should know where their money is going, simply because these funds are entrusted to the government with so much hope and sacrifice. We need transparency in government to genuinely reflect how our politicians should apply the best budget decisions and honest biddings for all projects. We need transparency in government to win back the glory of democracy that our grandparents fought for. We need transparency in government simply because Filipinos deserve the truth and honesty in government, nothing more, nothing less.

            I express my support to the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill because this bill is an instrument to that truth that we are clamoring for. The Freedom of Information Bill will enhance our ability to scrutinize budgets and project allocations in the national government and even in our local government units. The FOI will be the foundation of a genuinely democratic government that would allow participation of the citizens to be vigilant towards government’s decisions. The FOI is a great opportunity to enhance academic research, because government files and documents may already be accessed easily to provide research references for academic purposes. Above all, the FOI is the only feasible way to get the trust of the Filipinos back, because no matter how hard the government would work in the next few months or years, Filipinos would still think badly about the government if we are not informed enough where taxes are going – the most important resource that government must be accountable for.

            If the current administration promised us of a “Daang Matuwid”, we might as well demand for the passing of this simple bill.  Transparency leads to honesty. Honesty leads to greater accountability. Greater accountability leads to better public service. 

Pass the FOI Bill now!