Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr. called yesterday for an all-party caucus to muster support for the passage of the proposed Freedom of Information (FOI) Act this 16th Congress.
“I think we need a House leaders’ meeting to push for the passage of the FOI,” he said after the Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition of over 160 civil society organizations and leaders urged Congress to expedite action on the FOI bill which has been pending since the 12th Congress.
Belmonte said the House is committed to promote transparency and accountability in the government. “I am thinking of a strategy on how we can pass the FOI,” he said.
Last March 4, the House Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab unanimously approved the funding provision of the FOI bill despite attempts to delay its passage.
Manila Bulletin
