FOI bill is dead in 15th Congress; Advocates blame ‘conspiracy’ from PNoy down to House
By InterAksyon.com
November 13, 2012

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 6:54 pm) Advocates pushing for the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill denounced Tuesday the virtual killing of the bill, over a decade in the legislative mill, by the simple failure of a congressional panel to have a report approved in today’s long-awaited hearing.

“BATTERY, ASSAULT, and MURDER” or “BAM” for short is “what happened to the FOI bill today at the hearing of the Committee on Public Information of the House of Representatives,” said the statement signed by advocates including journalists, press-freedom advocates, transparency and good governance champions, declaring that for all intents and purposes, “the FOI bill is dead in the 15th Congress.”

By ensuring that no committee report will be approved in Monday’s hearing, said the statement, “the House Committee on Public Information has for all intents and purposes left no time for any FOI measure to get approved in the 15th Congress,” and it described committee Chairman Rep. Ben Evardone as “the biggest disappointment of all,” one who displayed “a dismal failure of leadership.”

Read full article @www.interaksyon.com

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.