By US News Agency / Asian

The Freedom of Information Bill, which was nearly ratified in the 14th Congress, will be pushed in the new Congress “with renewed hope,” an advocate of the bill said.

Lawyer Nepomuceno Malaluan of the Access to Information Network (Atin), a broad alliance campaigning for the passage of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), appealed to the public to support the bill’s passage in the 15th Congress.

Nepomuceno spoke during Friday’s “Your Right to Know: The Power of Citizens in the Freedom of Information Act” forum held at the Marcelo B. Fernan Cebu Press Center in Lahug, Cebu City.

He and Marites Vitug, editor-in-chief of online news magazine Newsbreak, served as the forum’s guest speakers.

Nepomuceno said the public’s right to know was a “constitutional guarantee” enshrined in Section 7 of the Bill of Rights and Section 28 of the Declaration of Principles and State Policies.

“We are fortunate to have this right enshrined in no less than our Bill of Rights,” he said.

There were hurdles, however, in enforcing the constitutional provisions, he said. Among these difficulties are the lack of uniform and effective procedures for requesting and accessing information and the absence of exact limitations on what information may be disclosed or withheld.

Nepomuceno said the FOIA would address these problems as it provided, among others, a standard and definite procedure in dealing with requests for information, a clear definition and a narrow list of exceptions and safeguards against abuse of these exceptions.

Vitug said the FOIA, once enacted, would spare the public, not just journalists, from the hassle of going to courts just to get their requests for information or official documents granted.

“Public officials find it easier to work in the dark. It’s comfortable for them to work while not being scrutinized,” she said.

She advised journalists to “memorize” the constitutional and legal provisions that give the public the right to access information from the government.

“Middle-level public officials are not aware of it. That’s why it’s best to remind them about it,” she said.

“Freedom of speech and the right to know or freedom of information are closely intertwined with democracy,” said Canadian ambassador to the Philippines Christopher Tornley, who delivered the welcome remarks.

Thornley said the presence of laws guarding the people’s right to information in Canada has “built government’s capacity to provide accurate information about all government transactions.”

He also stressed the importance of having a media that exercises “greater degree of responsibility.”

Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol, who served as a panel reactor during the forum, said he favored the passage of the FOIA because it would aid the Office of the Ombudsman in its investigation of corruption cases, by giving the anti-graft office easier access to information in other government agencies.

He added, though, that “press freedom is not a license to fabricate lies.”

The forum, held in time for the celebration of the Cebu Press Freedom Week, was sponsored by the Cebu Daily News and the Embassy of Canada.