Senator Mar Roxas said he is looking forward to deliberations in the Senate on a measure that would ensure that the public’s right to information is upheld, at a time when the administration has tended to stonewall calls for the truth, transparency and accountability, a press release from his office said.

He also lauded the action of the House on a similar measure, through the efforts of Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada, a fellow Liberal and House sponsor of the bill.

“Having such a law is important especially at a time when the trust of the people on its government and its institutions is low),” the Liberal Party president said.

The House passed its own version of the bill on second reading last week. It is set to be included in the House agenda this coming Monday, for third and final reading, the press release said.

Roxas had proposed Senate Bill No. 109, the proposed Free Information Act, at the start of the 14th Congress. As per Senate records, the bill is still pending with the Senate Committees on Public Information and Mass Media, and on Civil Service and Government Reorganization, the press release said.

It also said Roxas had called for the release of information on matters of public concern, such as the minutes of the NEDA-ICC relative to the ZTE-NBN deal; details of revenues from taxes and the sale of various assets; details on importation, on spending and on other plans of government relative to the rice crisis, among others.

Senate Bill No. 109 seeks to require government offices to answer all queries for information within two days, under pain of stiff penalties, unless sufficient justification is given, the press release added.*

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