Gov’t crackdown on corruption raises need for FOI law — analysts

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. should consider prioritizing the pending Freedom of Information (FOI) bills in Congress to help push for its approval, analysts said on Sunday, after he challenged investigative journalists to probe alleged irregularities in flood control projects.

- By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio and Chloe Mari A. Hufana Reporters

“When the President acknowledges the role of investigative journalism, it naturally opens the door to FOI. Otherwise, it risks sounding like empty praise,” Ederson DT. Tapia, a public administration professor at the University of Makati, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“FOI is the institutional backbone of transparency; without it, rhetoric remains theoretical,” he added.

The President last week unveiled a list of top contractors that bagged most flood control infrastructure projects. Asked whether the firms had links to government officials, Mr. Marcos said it was the job of investigative journalists to dig deeper into the issue.

The Philippines lacks an FOI regime that would allow Filipinos access public information despite the 1987 Constitution recognizing the people’s right to know. An enabling law is needed for its full implementation.