THOSE of you who are waiting for a Freedom of Information Bill crafted to your full satisfaction should not hold your breath. You folks will pass out from lack of air circulating in your system and it still won’t happen.
But Congress could pass a bill that will give the citizenry access to the business of government. Don’t be surprised, however, if the law will not open the secret door that reveals the monkey business.
In the US, the folks, who make up US Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG), are planning their own version of the Million People March. It will be a good effort and won’t be a waste of time, if only because the march will remind its members that USP4GG is still alive and kicking. But they shouldn’t be surprised if the MPM won’t persuade Congress or even Malacañang to enact a law that they will be completely happy with.
In this regard, the militants, reformists and do-gooders among us should learn a lesson taught us by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when she was still in office, at the time, serving the unfinished term of Erap Estrada.
I was part of a delegation from the US (which included the late Alex Esclamado, Loida Nicolas-Lewis, Rodel Rodis and Dr. Philip Chua) who called on Macapagal-Arroyo to ask for her support for the Dual Citizenship Bill and the Overseas Absentee Voting Bill.
Members of Congress had been placing all kinds of roadblocks on the way for the approval of both bills. In spite of the expressed support of then Senate President Frank Drilon and an audience with then House Speaker Joe de Venecia, attended by those from the opposition, like Teddy Boy Locsin, we were still far from seeing a “fully satisfactory” version of the proposed legislation.
When we explained the situation to Macapagal-Arroyo, she reminded us of the half-a-loaf principle: “Half a loaf is better than no loaf at all.”
“I suggest you accept the two bills in whatever form they may eventually take,” the president advised. “Once passed into law, you can always mount a campaign to amend them.”
And then she added the clincher: “On the other hand, if you oppose them now because of provisions you dislike, neither bill will pass and it may take a long time – if ever – for similar legislation to get as far as they have gotten.”
Like the FOI bill, the Dual Citizenship and the Overseas Absentee Voting Bills posed an imagined threat to the trapos (traditional politicians). Giving overseas Filipinos the right to participate in the election of the country’s leaders could tilt the balance in favor of “enlightened” voters who could neither be threatened nor paid off.
Enough of us (we were supposed to number over 8 million overseas Pinoys at the time) could constitute a “swing voting bloc” that could topple entrenched political dynasties, displace “idiots” (to use Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s colorful language), and cleanse the government of thieves.
For that reason, we feared that the two bills would never reach the desk of the president in a form that we would be happy with – unless Macapagal-Arroyo interceded on our behalf.
Her half-a-loaf advice was sobering. We realized that she was right – that a set of bills, allowing us the right of suffrage with limitations, was better than no rights at all. We conceded that we could subsequently work on amending them, once signed into law. Hopefully, at that point, we would already have enjoyed some leverage and could be dealing with new and more enlightened legislators.
The fact is, the FOI bill is hardly the most welcome piece of legislation as far as many public officials are concerned. Recent and ongoing exposés of the inefficiency and the plundering going on in government – even up to the time of Noynoy Aquino’s vaunted Tuwid na Daan (Straight Path) – provide proof that many in government are plain opportunists and incompetents, as well as thieves.
Why would they agree to be seen with their pants down? The only reasons the FOI bill has gotten as far as it has are, firstly, there are still honest and dedicated legislators and, secondly, a much-liberated traditional media and social media environment has exposed, prodded, threatened and even verbally terrorized our public officials into partial acquiescence.
I say “verbally terrorized” because, as of now, our bark is much worse than our bite. If the scandals happening in our country were to occur in more activist countries, there would be riots and acts of violence that would put the fear of God in the leaders of government.
Thankfully, enough pressure has been felt by members of Congress, due to relentless prodding by both media and the citizenry, to move them to act. Even Noynoy Aquino has offered no resistance to the FOI bill as it has begun to take shape in the Lower House, the Senate having already passed its own version.
It will help to continue nitpicking on the bill as it gets cut up, reshaped, reworded and made more palatable by congressmen concerned about keeping skeletons in the closet – but they will still have to come up with legislation that’s respectable enough to thwart another Million People March.
In other words, what could result is half-a-loaf of a Freedom of Information Bill.
When that happens, the militants, reformists and do-gooders among us should express utmost dismay while acknowledging, under our breath, that it is a start, and recalling the words of Chairman Mao: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
To be blunt about it, what is more important than finally getting a “perfect” FOI bill signed into law is making full use of the freedom to access information on the workings of government. Empirical experience suggests that we have been wanting.
Too often, we demand things from government and then fail to make good use of them. The Dual Citizenship and Overseas Absentee Voting laws suffered that distressing fate.
The participation of overseas Filipinos in the electoral process in our country has been extremely disappointing. All kinds of reasons have been given for not registering to vote and, having registered, for not voting at all. Reminds you of the Tagalog saying, “Kung gusto, maraming paraan. Kung ayaw, maraming dahilan.” (If one likes, there are many ways; if one doesn’t like, there are many excuses).
The amendments to the two bills that have been passed by Congress have certainly motivated more overseas Pinoys to exercise their right of suffrage, but if the trapos fear a “swing voting bloc,” they can relax in the meantime. It won’t happen soon. Maybe in 2016. Or 2022.
The harsh fact is, for many Pinoys abroad, effecting positive change in our Motherland is nice to talk about but, hey, they’re really too busy making a living and trying to pay their bills to actually do something concrete – except, maybe, participate in a Million People March.
And so, we shall wait for the FOI Bill that Speaker Sonny Belmonte threatened to pass under threat of retiring from public service. Pres. Noynoy Aquino, according to Malacañang spokesman Edwin Lacierda, doesn’t think it’s an urgent piece of legislation but will likely sign one that meets his “strict guidelines.”
When that happens, let us see what we militants, reformists and do-gooders plan to do with it. Hopefully, we will not simply consign the bill to a museum, there to be visited occasionally, as a reminder of our activism and concern for good governance.
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