There is no overstating that only when the citizenry is informed can they be empowered to be partners in nation building.
A vigilant citizenry is the most effective check against an abusive government.
That’s why the right of the people to information is enshrined in the Constitution. The Bill of Rights provides that “Access to official records, and to documents, and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or decision, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.”
Two years into the Benigno Aquino III presidency, the optimism for the passage of the Freedom of Information bill has waned and has become a cause of concern for media practitioners.
There was supposed to be meeting by the House committee on public information chaired by Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone last Aug. 7 but it was cancelled. Instead it was decided to get the sense of the House majority coalition man on the bill.
