MALACAÑANG spokesmen’s denials notwithstanding, we still believe that the President does not want to give freedom of information to the people.

The Constitution gives us, the Filipino people, that freedom: the right to be informed and the freedom to ask government, any agency of it, to give details of its activities. All that’s needed—as usual-with constitutional intentions in the case of freedom of information is an enabling law.

That law is the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act that would make this freedom a reality.

The other day, based on reliable sources in the Palace and in the House of Representatives, we published a story saying that no less than Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa had appealed to House members involved in the effort to pass the FOI Bill to let it expire. After the Palace issued its denials, which appears in today’s issue, we contacted those sources and they insisted that they had told us the truth: no less than the President wants the House to drop the FOI Bill.

We believe them.

If the President wanted the FOI bill passed, his allies in the House would not be as lackadaisical about it as they are.

And these allies, like Rep. Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar, a former newsman and the chairman of the House Committee on Public Information, would not be protesting too much about our Ochoa story. He said whatever Secretary Ochoa does won’t sway him and his fellow House leaders.

He did some breastbeating when he told The Manila Times, “We are an independent branch of government so we will just discharge our functions in accordance with our mandate. We will only consider the official position paper submitted by the Palace on the FOI.” Which means what Secretary Ochoa says doesn’t count but what the President says does.

From what we see in the behavior of the congressmen, the President has said—maybe through Sec. Ochoa or some other trusted Palace bearer of Mr. Aquino’s instructions—”I don’t care if you pass the FOI Bill or not but I prefer that you don’t pass it. It’s not a priority for me. Why should it be a priority for you?”

Rep. Evardone virtually supports Secretary Ochoa when he says Mr. Ochoa did not lobby against the FOI Bill. He says Mr. Ochoa did not even talk to him about “his opposition to the FOI bill.” And the congressman even justified Mr. Ochoa’s lobbying against FOI, not that he did, but “it would be normal for Ochoa to be afraid of the measure.” Why? Because Mr. Ochoa “ didn’t want the transcripts of Cabinet meetings to be made public.”

“That’s understandable, considering the Palace’s position on the bill includes minutes of preliminary discussion of the Cabinet on policies as an exemption to FOI,” Evardone told The Times.

Right of reply provision
Now they’re blaming the “right of reply” provision.

Rep. Evardone’s committee failed to vote on the bill on Tuesday because Rep. Rodolfo Antonino of Nueva Ecija stood pat on his wish to have the right of reply provision he has been fighting for which is not in the bill.

The debate, which involved the original father of the FOI in the past Congress, Rep. Erwin Tañada, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, Rep. Walden Bello and some others, and the motion to put the bill to a vote so that it could be reported to the plenary session, was halted and the hearing was adjourned by Rep. Evardone.

The committee hearing had a quorum. The hearing was very well-attended and if the vote had been taken, the FOI bill, consolidating the House and Senate versions and the Malacañang required provisions, would have passed.

Bayan Muna partylist Congressman Teddy Casiño was disgusted. He imputed the invisible presence of Malacañang in Committee Chairman Ben Evardone’s decision to adjourn the hearing without putting the FOI Bill to a vote when it would have surely passed.

Why, he asked?

Why indeed if it is true that President Aquino is leaving the matter to Congress? And if there is no Palace directive to kill the FOI Bill?

Earlier, Rep. Tañada had spoken against Evardone’s pussy-footing and justification of delays.

The hearing will resume on November 27. That leaves little room for the House to pass the bill, which does not have Malacañang backing, because the legislature will adjourn on December 21 for the Christmas break.

Someone should value his campaign word of honor
A FOI Act will strengthen media and the public in making all government deals transparent, in exposing corrupt undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, heads of sections and other key political appointees who are making a mockery of the President’s daang matuwid [straight path] policy.

He used to think a FOI Act was necessary for corruption to be exterminated. That is why when he was campaigning he promised, solemnly and with fervor, that he would work for its passage once he became president.

He has obviously changed his mind. Pray that President Aquino is seized by the urge to value the word of honor he uttered during the 2010 election campaign.