Padilla: FOI bill needs PBBM's certification as urgent
Published Jun 22, 2023 12:31 pm
Senator Robinhood C. Padilla on Thursday, June 22, said accelerated passage of the Freedom of information (FOI) bill requires its certification as a priority measure by Marcos administration.
Padilla said President Ferdinand ‘’Bongbong’’ R. Marcos Jrw. himself had said that the FOI bill should have been included in the list of priority bills agreed upon in the Legislative Executive Development Authority Council (LEDAC) meeting to accelerate its approval through the legislative process.
The Chief Executive had pointed out that the FOI bill is necessary to deter the spread of ‘fake news.’
‘’Pagka naging batas yan e maobliga na pong sumunod diyan lahat na ahensya ng gobyerno (when it is signed into law, all government agencies will follow) Kailangan po yan kasi \`matagal na po yan naririnig ko na po yan panahon ni Sen Grace Poe tapos panahon ni PRRD (The certification is needed because the bill has been heard by Senator Grace Poe (chairperson of the Senate public services committee), and during the Duterte administration). Talagang maingay na yan (That is a noisy one). Siguro kailangan na talagang maging priority bill (t is important that it be certified as a priority bill),’’ he explained..
As chairman of the Senate committee on public information and mass media, Padilla said he has already scheduled a hearing on the FOI bill but emphasized that it should be a certified bill to accelerate the legislative pace.
He pointed out that he had conducted a hearing on the measure.
The movie actor-turned-senator said he plans to meet with Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri to make the FOI bill a priority measure.