BY ISMAEL AMIGO

1ST-APLUMA NATIONAL PRESIDENT

NOW that the Senate has revised the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill, the ball is in President Aquino's court to certify it as urgent so the administration's allies in Congess could work for its passage to ensure its "matuwid na daan" slogan.

Our group, 1st-APLUMA, has deemed the FOI bill important for President Aquino's mission to eradicate graft and corruption in government.

1st-APLUMA has been pushing for the passage of the bill since the 14th Congress as this would be of great help in the campaign against corruption.

The bill would give the people the right to information and government transactions affecting public interests.

The bill mandates government agencies to make available for public scrutiny, copying and reproduction all information pertaining to official acts as provided in the Constitution.

The measure also imposes a one- to six-month imprisonment on any public official or employee who prevents the exercise of the constitutional rights.

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1st-APLUMA's stand on the FOI bill goes with Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano's call to President Aquino to certify it as urgent, saying a big part of the fight against corruption would be won if the proposal is passed into law.

Cayetano believes that President Aquino, unlike the previous administration, has nothing to fear about the law.

The lawmaker said he wants a more aggressive stand from Malacañang when it comes to passing the FOI bill, which was not passed in the previous Congress.

In the meantime, while the bill is pending, Cayetano suggests that the President come up with an executive order requiring all government agencies to comply with requests for public documents.

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Malacanang, for its part, has already stressed that the Aquino administration believes that an informed citizenry is important for democracy to function properly.

Sec. Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communications Operations Office,  said that there should be adequate safeguards on the release of information involving national security and foreign relations, citizens' privacy, the protection of trade secrets, the impartiality of verdicts, and the impartiality of justice.

Coloma also said there is a need to examine the possible impact on the workload of government agencies, which might be deluged with simultaneous requests.