SB vows FOI bill approval during his term

MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. vowed that the House of Representatives would approve the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill within his term as leader of the chamber.

“I manage to get things done. What I can commit in my term is there will be an FOI, a version that will pass,” Belmonte told reporters Thursday night.

He said 27 of the 35 members of the House committee on public information have been named, more than enough for a quorum for the panel to start deliberating on various versions of the FOI bill filed in the chamber.

But he also said the House is focusing its attention on approving the proposed P2.268-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2014.

Malacañang earlier indicated that it is willing to include the FOI bill as among the priority measures of the Aquino administration when the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council convenes.

At the Senate, the FOI bill is now up for approval on the floor.

The Senate resumes session on Monday after a two-week break, and topping the list of its priorities are the FOI bill and other economic measures, including the GAA for 2014.

Senate President Franklin Drilon expects the FOI measure to be approved on third and final reading by the end of the year.

“We will begin the period of interpellation and subsequently the period of amendments when session will resume on Monday,” he said.

Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate committee on public information and mass media, sees no problem with the approval of the measure in the Senate since it has the “overwhelming support of fellow senators and the public.”

The Senate approved a previous version of the FOI bill in the 15th Congress, but this was relegated to the archives because the House failed to act on the measure.

Poe said that the passage of the FOI bill is very important because it serves to complement the strong public clamor for transparency and accountability and the safeguarding of public funds.

“FOI will not only prevent graft and corruption but more importantly, our citizens will learn to get involved and participate and thus will become true stakeholders in their government. This is the true essence of democracy,” Poe said in her sponsorship speech on the bill.

“The proposed FOI Act is long overdue. Let us not delay its passage anymore. Let us heed the clamor of the people and approve this measure without further delay,” she added.

Other bills on the line

Apart from the FOI and GAA, Drilon said that the Senate would also work on the long-overdue rationalization of fiscal incentives bill, which is being pushed by the Department of Finance.

The bill would remove several revenue-reducing incentives granted to certain businesses and investors such as tax breaks, a lot of which are no longer relevant or necessary.

“Our study in the Senate shows that there are around 186 laws which provide numerous fiscal and non-fiscal incentives and subsidies to foreign and domestic investors. We will reassess and harmonize these laws to avoid redundant and overlapping incentives to cut unnecessary revenue loss,” Drilon said.

Drilon said the Senate would also review the Foreign Investment Negative List in order to bring in more investors to the country and generate employment.

He said activities such as retail trade enterprises with paid-up capital of less than $2.5 million; contracts for the construction and repair of locally funded public works; contracts for the supply of materials to government-owned and controlled corporations; adjustment; and lending and financial companies and investment houses regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission would be among the areas that would be open for foreign investors.