Robin Padilla: FOI bill to be swiftly passed if certified urgent by Marcos

Senator Robin Padilla was confident the Senate would swiftly approve the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill if President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. certified it as urgent.

“Meron na po kaming hearing diyan, naka-schedule na po. Pero siyempre lagi po akong nakatingin doon sa pagka na-certify yan ng Pangulo, mabilis,” Padilla, chairman of Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, said in a statement.

(We have scheduled hearings on the matter. But I am looking at a faster passage of the bill if the President certifies it as urgent.)

It had a better chance to become law if Marcos informed the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) that the measure was a priority, he added.

“Pagka naging batas yan e maobliga na pong sumunod diyan lahat na ahensya ng gobyerno… Dapat po kasama sa LEDAC yan kasi naniniwala ako na pagka parte ng LEDAC, may pakpak,” he said.

(Once it becomes law, all agencies must follow it. So it must be included in the list of priority bills. Once this happens, I believe it will be passed.)

At least four FOI bills by Senators Grace Poe, Joel Villanueva, Sonny Angara, and Bong Revilla had been filed in the Senate.

During the 14th edition of the International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC), Marcos said the Freedom of Information program "has leveraged available technology and digital platforms to be of greater service to our people."

Marcos said his administration would undertake a media and information literacy campaign, which shall be digital, multi-media, and youth-oriented. He noted that his leadership would always promote freedom of information in society. — DVM, GMA Integrated News