“Freedom of Information Bill - A Form of Check And Balance”

      The Senate Bill 1733 which shall be  known as “People’s Freedom of Information Act of 2013” mainly gives the people of the Philippines the right to be informed on transactions involving   matters of public concerns that our government and all government personnel are involved. This empowers the people and the citizenry to check abuses in the government. In terms of our public officials and employees, this will help them to endeavor transparency, honesty and justice in the performance of their duties.  

            On the other side of the coin, the public shall know that there are also provisions of this act that protects our National Security and Sovereignty. It shall be known also by the public that there are exemptions in this Bill. As member of AFP, we are mandated to protect of Country and preserve our sovereignty. It is our soul duty to defend our country and this is the same with all citizens of this country.  As responsible citizens of this country, everyone shall know that we can defend our country by observing the provisions of this bill which particularly exempts Information directly related to National Security or Defense from being divulged to the public. It shall be known to all citizens that there are also information’s that need to be kept secret as provided in this bill. This is giving due importance to our National Security. It shall be known that this is one form of check and balance. Check in terms of irregularities and corruption but give due importance to balance in terms of preserving our National Sovereignty.

            Interpreting this bill in terms of its context as “Freedom of Information Bill” is not enough. The Act shall be thoroughly read and understood so every one of us shall know our responsibilities and also our limitations, responsibilities of our government officials as well as responsibilities of the citizenry. Reading through the four (4) words of the bill “Freedom-of-Information –Bill” will give a very deceiving interpretation. To some, they might interpret that this bill transcends to all information which will give a very different perspective to the public view. First impression will give a perspective that we can access all information but as we go through the bill thoroughly, we can see that there are exceptions as well as there are responsibilities for both the government and the public. It is very important that the public shall know that check and balance which should be observed both by the government and the Public in the observance of this Act.

            What about the role of the media in this bill? Media is part of the citizenry and they are considered to be the unelected and unofficial voice of the people. It shall be known among the media that they play very important role in the observance of this bill. They shall read the provisions of this bill and understand the importance of the exceptions stated in the bill. If media practitioners interpret this bill through its context, without thoroughly going through its provisions, the good intent of this bill will be defeated. We believe that responsible media reporting   will maximize the good effects of this bill. While on the other hand, this bill opens opportunity for irresponsible media to breed abuse and corruption among media practitioners.  At present, where Philippine media are being dubbed by international community as well as international media as irresponsible media practitioners, this bill shall enhance the good practices done by responsible media practitioners and will lessen the irresponsible practice of some Philippine Media practitioners.

            In observing the “Freedom of Information Bill”, every citizen of this country should understand and give due importance to National Security and our Sovereignty. It shall be known to all that there are provisions of this bill that protects and preserves our National Security and Sovereignty.   To some, this might be a lightly regarded matter but every citizen of this country should know that this is very important and every citizen shall endeavour to protect our sovereignty. Every one of us should understand that, not all government information’s are for public consumption. There are information’s that needs to be protected and preserved in order to keep our country secured. As stated in this bill in “Section 7 paragraph a, Information’s to be kept secret are; 1) The information directly relates to National Security or defense and its revelation may cause serious damage to the national security or internal and external defense of the state; or 2) The information requested pertains to the foreign affairs of the Republic of the Philippines, when its revelation shall unduly weaken the negotiating position of the Government in an ongoing bilateral or multilateral negotiations or seriously jeopardize the diplomatic relations of the Philippines with any state. Provided, further that the executive order shall specify the reasonable period after which the information shall be automatically declassified or subject to mandatory declassification review, and that any reasonable doubt as to classification and declassification shall be settled in favour of the right to information;.”   Reading through the provisions stated above, we can clearly comprehend that there are exceptions in this bill. It is my sole intention to emphasize said provisions. This simply implies that we should also protect our sovereignty through this bill. We should give due respect to agencies in the government that continuously works silently to defend our country in order for us to enjoy freedom and democracy.

            Let us not use “Freedom” to suppress our FREEDOM. What do we mean in this statement? Interpreting the “Freedom of Information Bill” without reading saliently its provisions will lead to the statement above. Let all people know that there are information’s protected by this government in order for us to enjoy our Freedom and Democracy. Divulging this to public will undermine the freedom of this country and expose our National Security. Giving due respect and consideration to those who work hard for our National Security simply means we love our Country.

            One of the main roles of this bill is to promote Openness and Transparency in Government Agencies as stated in Section 9.  In this section, it states the right of public to access government transactions.  In this manner this will form as check and balance. Every Filipino will be able to have freedom in knowing every government transactions. The greater good for this is it will prevent corruption since all transactions are made public. Unpublished transactions that should be legally published means that there are shades of corruption directly or indirectly. The public will be the deterrent factor in the commission corruption since all transactions are known to the public and queries and criticisms may be published for unsatisfactorily executed public projects. On the other hand, positive reactions and praises may be gained by satisfactorily accomplished and published Government projects.  The role of this bill as a check and balance will be maximized with the utilization of Responsible Media. They will play very important role in making all Government Transactions readily available to the public.

            In order for the public to fully understand this “Freedom of Information Bill”, it should be incorporated in our education  system as stated in Section  25 the bill which is- “To ensure a well- that generations of citizens, the right to information , the principles of accountability and transparency , democracy and leadership, and good governance shall be integrated in such subjects as Heyograpia, Kasaysayan at Sibika ( HEKASI) and Araling Panlipunan in the elementary level and in such subjects as Social Studies and Makabayan or its equivalent subjects in high school level. The Department of Education in coordination with the Civil Service Commission and other relevant offices shall prepare the necessary modules and teaching programs consistent with the objectives of this Act”.   This provision of the Act will ensure that generations of Filipinos will be able to understand and fully be aware of the bill. As the saying goes “ The Best Way to inform is through Education”.

            As a general rule, laws should be fair and should be able to protect the rights of every person. There are provisions in the act that provides protection of privacy. In Section 10 of the Bill it states that “ While providing for access to information in public records, this Act also affords full protection of the right to privacy of individuals, as follows:  a) A government agency must ensure that personal information in its custody or under its control is disclosed only as permitted in this Act;  b)  A government agency must protect personal information in its custody or under its control by making reasonable security arrangements against such risks as unauthorized access, collections, use, disclosure , or disposal: c) An employee , officer or director of a government agency who has access , whether authorized or unauthorized , to personal information in the custody of the agency, must not disclose that information except as authorized by this act”.   It shall be known to that there entire are only certain personal documents of government officials with their level of positions that are covered in the provisions of this Act. Not all personal information can be accessed and this is in respect to the right of each individual to protect his/her privacy.  This is a very important aspect of the Act that the general public should know. It will be fair and just that public officials working for the Freedom and Sovereignty of our Country should also be protected in this Act. 

            As a public servant, I view this Act as a milestone in the check and balance system of our Government. I’m not saying that the existing systems of Check and Balance in the Government are not working. What i would like to emphasize is this Act is an external Check and balance. The existing ones are all internal and not stakeholder based check and balance. In this Act, the public was given a chance to see government transactions and on the other end they can air their feedback on each of our Government transactions. This feedback might not be part of the every Government System of transactions but it will help greatly in evaluating the effectiveness of every Government Project.   To some, this Act will prevent corruption in Government and it will enhance transparency but for us Public servants this will enhance our Service through the feedbacks that we receive from the public. To some this might be a window to exploit others. Let us not allow this Act to be an avenue to exploit others, as well as to enforce power and advantage to others.   Respect and restraint should still reign in the midst of the implementation of this Act. Privacy stated in the provisions of this Act as well as exceptions should be respected.

            Being in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, we were taught to treat documents with secrecy and confidentiality in order to protect our National Security and preserve our National Sovereignty. With the enactment of “People’s Freedom of Information Act of 2013” or commonly known as “Freedom of Information Bill”, I was not receptive at first. As I went through it, I fully appreciated the Act because my apprehensions regarding matters of National Security and our Sovereignty were addressed. It is by then that I promoted this Act for everyone to read and be fully aware. Let us not look at its Title alone but read and understand its content. The Title might be deceiving but the contents are comprehensive.

            In closing, it is worth to know our rights to information and our responsibilities to protect some information too.  Fellow Filipinos should be aware that we were given rights and privileges through enactment of laws but we should not forget that in these laws where our rights are specified, there are corresponding responsibilities that we should be aware too. Freedom doesn’t mean we are free to suppress our Countries Freedom. Freedom was given for us to protect our own beloved Philippine’s hard earned Freedom. 

REFERENCES:
   - Senate Bill 1733
   - www.gov.ph//foi - Freedom of information Bill