Momentum for the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill (HB 1188) is building in the House of Representatives, as FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-list Rep. Brian Poe’s call for transparency has secured not just the backing of committee leaders but also a pledge of co-authorship from Cong. Bryan Yamsuan.
“I rise today with conviction and with deep respect for the work that has come before us to manifest my strong support for the immediate passage of the Freedom of Information Bill, which I have filed in this Congress under House Bill No. 1188,” Poe declared at the Committee on Public Information’s organizational meeting. He commended Chairman Lordan Suan for prioritizing both the FOI Bill and the proposed Anti-Fake News Bill.
Poe recalled how his mother, Senator Grace Poe, had long championed the measure: “Like her, this was my priority bill—my first bill filed. She said then that the FOI Bill is long overdue, that many people believe the long-term solution to corruption is by making government records and transactions accessible to the public,” he said.
He also shared a personal reflection: “When my mother first stood to sponsor the FOI Bill in 2013, she even mentioned my name, saying that I had been born in 1992, the same year the very first FOI was filed. Today, that son stands before you, not as a child but as a Representative committed to finishing what she started and what so many others began.”
Calling on colleagues to act decisively, Poe said: “In light of all the recent events, let us be the Congress that passes this bill into law! It’s been three decades that this bill has remained in the halls of Congress. I think with all that has happened, it is time for us to finally pass this into law—and with your leadership, Mr. Chair, I believe we can do it.”
The FOI campaign drew immediate support from committee members. Chairman Lordan Suan responded, “I guarantee my full support, Rep. Poe.”
Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong echoed his backing but the strongest show of commitment came from Rep. Bryan Yamsuan, who went a step further by declaring that he would co-author the FOI Bill alongside Rep. Poe.
The House of Representatives has a Committee on Public Information, with Rep. Lordan G. Suan serving as the Chairperson and other members of the committee include Rep. Joseph “Jojo” L. Lara, Rep. Agatha Paula Cruz, Rep. Reynante U.
Arrogancia, Rep. Brian Raymund S. Yamsuan, and Rep. Brian Poe.
Bulacan 5th District Rep. Agatha Cruz stated: “We in the Committee on Public Information are all in agreement that the FOI Bill is our priority measure and as Vice Chairperson commit to support it fully so that the FOI be enacted into law this 20th Congress.
The committee’s jurisdiction covers all matters relating to public information, mass communications, and media.
