Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno believes the enactment of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Law will reduce corruption among government agencies.
Diokno, a senatorial bet under Vice President Leni Robredo’s ticket, noted the FOI Law is a big help in the government fight against corruption if passed.
“Mabibigyan ng dagdag na ngipin ang kampanya kapag naisabatas na ang FOI. Sa tulong nito, magiging bukas sa publiko ang mga transaksiyong pinapaasok ng gobyerno (The campaign will be given more teeth if the FOI is enacted. With its help, the government transactions will be open to the public),” said Diokno in a statement.
The veteran lawyer promised to push for the enactment of the FOI once he gets elected into the Senate.
President Duterte has signed an Executive Order requiring all government offices under the executive branch to disclose details of their transactions.
But Diokno lamented this is not enough as it has too many exceptions, and has not made government transactions more accessible to the public.
“Sa halip na EO, kailangan natin ng batas na may kagat upang mapuksa na nang tuluyan ang katiwalian sa pamahalaan (Instead of the EO, we need a law that has teeth to defeat corruption in government),” he said.
Aside from this, Diokno plans to give more teeth to Republic Act 6713 or the law that covers statement of assets and liabilities and net worth (SALN) by strengthening the citizen’s right of access.
“SALN’s boost the fight against corruption. RA 6713 should be amended so that those who block the release of SALNs are punished severely,” he stressed.
He also seeks to amend to Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (R.A. 6713) to increase the penalties for graft and corruption offenses and pass the whistleblower law to make it easier to secure convictions of those behind organized corruption.