Malacañang insists its FOI bill won’t violate govt officials’ rights

Malacañang on Saturday insisted its version of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill will not violate the rights of government officials whose Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) will be posted online. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the more sensitive parts of the SALNs, such as the official’s address, may be redacted or blacked out. “Ang hindi kailangan na information sa SALN kapag posted ito online pwede i-redact, i-blackmark (The information that is not relevant to transparency may be redacted or blacked out in the version of the SALN posted online),” she said on government-run dzRB radio. She said the FOI bill’s purpose of posting the SALN online is to give the public an idea of the officials’ salaries and financial interests. On the other hand, she said it may be up to Congress to make the changes to the Palace version of the FOI bill as it sees fit, including changing the scope of officials covered by the bill. “Depende yan sa Kongreso kung gusto nila palitan o dagdagan ang opisyal na yan," she said. Valte said the Palace version of the bill applies to the president, vice president, Supreme Court magistrates, senators, congressmen and Cabinet members. She hinted the online posting may also indicate the pork barrel funds used by lawmakers. On the other hand, Valte said the bill may allow custodians of the documents to not accommodate those asking for the SALN, if the SALN concerned has already been posted online. “Ang naging feedback ng ibang bansa na may FOI Act yang biglang pagdagsa agad [ng mga humihingi ng kopya ng naturang dokumento]," she said. Meanwhile, Valte said the Palace is behind a move by Senate ally Ralph Recto for a nationwide education campaign on the new SALN form. “Magandang mungkahi yan kay Sen. Recto (It is a good suggestion from Sen. Recto),” she said. — LBG, GMA News