I need your signature and support on Online Petition to Pres. Pnoy

Dear Bayani,

Your email to kor-world@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: [KOR World] Abridged summary of kor-world@googlegroups.com - 2 Messages in 2 Topics - Protecting Overseas Workers Means Not Deploying Them In the First Place which was forwarded to our WFA@yahoogroups.com by Rodel Ramos gave me the incentive to make this appeal to you, which I hope you will forward to your kor-world@googlegroups.com.

I would like to request for your signature and support of the Online Petition for Pres. Pnoy to issue an interim Executive Order mandating right of access to information on matters of public concern in the Executive Branch - at http://www.petitiononline.com/gtmjr37/petition.html

Please sign this petition and forward the email below to all the Filipinos in your email list and egroups. Let us make this like a PEOPLE POWER IN CYBERSPACE, calling the attention of Pres. Pnoy to make good on his promises to the Filipino people.

This petition is an effort to show Pres. Pnoy that we want an effective tool to fight graft and corruption and in the process alleviate proverty; and this tool is a form of freedom of information act just limited to the Executive Branch where the bulk of our national budget is spent. Our 1987 Constitution gives the President the power to do that ( (Article VII, Section 17: "The President shall have control of all the executive departments, bureaus, and offices.") This tool will allow concerned citizens to look at what our Commission On Audit (COA) and other government officials are doing - for purposes of fighting corruption and improving governance; the need for this vigilance came to fore with the heroic testimony of Heidi Mendoza and others on the alleged newly exposed earthshaking corruption in the military, among other things. It has been estimated that 20 % of our national budget is lost to graft and corruption; that's a staggering amount of 320 billion pesos on the 2011 national budget of 1.6 trillion pesos. Imagine how many school buildings, hospitals, roads and other infrastructure could be built with this money, not to mention job creation and the alleviation of poverty which hit 26.5 % in 2009 with a total of 23.1 million Filipinos subsisting on below 2 US dollars per day http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2011-02/11/c_13727863.htm)

To sign, please log into http://www.petitiononline.com/gtmjr37/petition.html. Click on Sign the Petition. Type your name (preferably followed by your title/designation and location for the info of Pres. Pnoy), and email address and if you wish, you may enter a comment in the next panel. Then click on Preview your Signature to review your signature/entry. If this is correct, click on Approve Signature; only then will your signature be recorded and will be shown in the next screen with the current signature totals.

Unless you have a fundamental objection to the petition, please sign the petition and forward this email even if you think this initiative is not enough or it is simply an exercise in futility, knowing what is happening and what has happened in the past. We have nothing to lose, except perhaps 2 minutes of our time . The gain could be nothing, nada, zero; on the other hand, it could bring about change for a better Philippines. In either case, I surely believe it is worth the try.

We have an impressive line up of signatories which include Mae Paner as Juana Change (signatorie #44), a cousin of Pres. Pnoy (Andrea "Dedette" Aquino, signatorie # 50), several former senior government officers (FSGOs) , the co-founders of US Pinoys for Good Governance (#1 & #2), and many others - but we badly need the NUMBERS; at this writing, we only have 380 signatories.

I will deeply appreciate your acknowledgment of receipt of this email and any comments you may wish to share with me.

Best regards.

Greg

Dear Friends,

Please sign the ONLINE PETITION for Pres. Pnoy to issue an Executive Order mandating right of access to information on matters of public concern in the Executive Branch - at http://www.petitiononline.com/gtmjr37/petition.html

Please sign this petition and forward the email below to all the Filipinos in your email list and egroups. Let us make this like a PEOPLE POWER IN CYBERSPACE, calling the attention of Pres. Pnoy to make good on his promises to the Filipino people.

It has been estimated that about 20% of our national budget is lost to graft and corruption; that would be a whopping 320 billion pesos on the 2011 national budget of 1.6 trillion pesos. Imagine how many school buildings, hospitals, roads and other infrastructure could be built with this money, not to mention job creation and alleviation of poverty which hit 26.5 % in 2009 with a total of 23.1 million Filipinos subsisting on below 2 US dollars per day (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2011-02/11/c_13727863.htm). This is the main reason we're asking Pres. Pnoy to issue an Executive Order mandating anti-corruption transparency and accountability in the Executive Branch.Since this is limited to the Executive Branch for which he has control as stated in our Constitution (Article VII, Section 17: "The President shall have control of all the executive departments, bureaus, and offices.") the other two branches should not complain that the president is intruding into their independence; ideally, all three branches of government should practice transparency and accountability -- but this will become a reality only when Congress ratifies the Freedom of Information Act, which unfortunately has languished in the Legislature for about a decade now and it would not be until this June when it shall reach plenary debate in the House.

Bulk of the 1.6 trillion peso 2011 budget will be spent by the Executive Branch apart from the annual budgets of local government units (LGUs). Even the PORK BARRELS are budgeted under the Executive Branch; it is only in the actual disbursements where the legislators enter into the picture. Therefore, this Executive Order can already provide a tool for preventing and/or capturing corruption in some of its most fertile grounds; besides it will also cover the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs under the Dept of Finance.

Please sign the petition for Pres. Pnoy to issue this interim Executive Order mandating anti-corruption transparency and accountability in the Executive Branch at Copied below is the Office of the President's position paper on the Freedom of Information Act. It would be great if Pres. Pnoy issues this interim Executive Order to set an example for others to support the Freedom of Information Act. Also included are some articles in support of the petition and the statements made therein.

http://www.petitiononline.com/gtmjr37/petition.html. Click on Sign the Petition. Type your name (preferably followed by your title/designation and location for the info of Pres. Pnoy), and email address and if you wish, you may enter a comment in the next panel. Then click on Preview your Signature to review your signature/entry. If this is correct, click on Approve Signature; only then will your signature be recorded and will be shown in the next screen with the current signature totals.

Please forward this email to every egroup that you belong to and to all those in your email list and ask them to do the same -- even just to raise this issue to the level of consciousness of as many Filipinos as possible -- for a better Philippines. We need to reach millions to make an impact.

Thank you very much.

May God bless the Philippines. Mabuhay!

Greg Mariano, Jr.

Pennsylvania, USA

Some articles in support of the petition and some statements therein:

1. Inaugural Address of President Benigno Aquino III Wednesday, June 30, 2010 -http://philippinecandidacy.blogspot.com/2010/06/inaugural-address-of-president-benigno.html - We are here to serve and not to lord over you. The mandate given to me was one of change. I accept your marching orders to transform our government from one that is self-serving to one that works for the welfare of the nation. xxx During the campaign we said, "If no one is corrupt, no one will be poor." That is no mere slogan for posters -- it is the defining principle that will serve as the foundation of our administration.

2. Speech of President Aquino during the PPP conference, Infrastructure Philippines 2010 - http://www.gov.ph/2010/11/18/speech-of-president-aquino-during-the-ppp-meeting-november-18-2010/. "I was elected on the promise to reduce poverty and fight corruption..." "We call it Daylight. The way forward is to move, together, in the broad light of day, where everything we do and how we do it is clear, honest, and transparent."

3. During LP’s 64th anniversary celebration at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan, LP standard bearer Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and running mate Sen. Manuel Roxas II led the signing of the "manifesto of hope" where they pledged to fight corruption in government, social and political conflict, and poverty. -http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=544234&publicationSubCategoryId=63.

4. 1987 Constitution - http://www.livinginthephilippines.com/constitution/constitution_1987.html Article II, Section 28: Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law, the State adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest. Article III, Section 7. The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, 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.

5.The administration will continue to establish the daylight of transparency and accountability on all fronts, despite vigorous opposition from those who want to return to the old ways of deceit and dishonesty for personal gain.- Palace: Aquino's new approval rating reaches record high 2010-11-30 15:09:25 JAM SISANTE, GMANews.TV

http://www.gmanews.tv/100days/story/207206/palace-aquinos-new-approval-rating-reaches-record-high

6. About 20% of national budget lost to graft and corruption: Reducing Special Purpose Funds to Reduce Corruption.Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project Friday, 15 October 2010 -

http://www.transparencyreporting.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=141:reducing-special-purpose-funds-to-reduce-corruption&catid=44:stories&Itemid=94. According to organisers of the launching of the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP) March 23 2010 launch held at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, an estimated 20% of the national budget is lost each year to graft and corruption. The Philippines remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to Transparency International. - http://www.comminit.com/en/node/313015/348.

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT POSITION PAPER ON FOI ACT

Statement on Measures Concerning Access to Information On Matters of Public Concerns Embodied in House Bills Nos. 11, 22, 53, 59, 86, 133, 301, 830, 1713, 1968, 2128 and 2969 (Submitted to the House of Representative Committee on Public Information on November 9, 2010)

The Aquino Administration believes that an informed citizenry is essential to the proper functioning of democracy and that the right to information is indispensable to the people’s effective participation in governance.

It also adheres to the tenet of transparency, having ascended to the presidency on the crest of the people’s desire for honest leadership. Unbridled use of power will be curtailed by freer access to information. Acts and transactions imbued with public interest, especially those decided at the highest levels of the bureaucracy or those financed by massive sums of public funds, must be beyond any cloud of doubt. For these reasons, it supports the general principles that underlie the proposed measures pending before this House Committee concerning access to information on matters of public concerns.

Before citing specific issues of concern, we would like to propose for this honorable Committee to first consider an international perspective on this issue, to better guide it on how to proceed. The rights and responsibilities that the proposed measures touch upon are certainly some of the most important for the effective functioning of our democracy.

We have looked at possible international standards on this matter of freedom of information and found useful inputs from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO.

In 2008, UNESCO held a meeting of experts followed by a general conference on the theme "Freedom of Expression, Access to Information and Empowerment of People". Although the major focus was on freedom of the press, the initiative also touched on the linkage between freedom of information and sustainable development. The highlights of the UNESCO initiative[1] relevant to today’s proceedings are as follows:

First

, that the right to access information is intrinsically linked to freedom of expression. It notes that information is subject to interpretation. Hence, the "clearinghouse function of an open and pluralistic media" is critical to a better understanding of any issue. Media, more than anybody else, is therefore endowed the major responsibility of accessing and analyzing "public" information. Given that media organizations in different countries are governed by strict professional and ethical standards on their conduct, this exercise of right to information must be carefully framed within this environment. "Public" information cannot therefore be used wantonly but rather responsibly. Media organizations may have to revisit their codes of professional and ethical standards in view of the greater responsibility that is concomitant with broader access to information that will be allowed by these bills.

Second

, in terms of encouraging the empowerment of citizens, UNESCO acknowledges that Freedom of Information is at the heart of a participatory democracy. "New technology will continue to evolve and allow citizens to further shape their media environments as well as access a plurality of sources. The combination of access to information and citizen participation in media…can contribute to…increased… empowerment". This "citizen participation in media" is again subject to professional and ethical standards that govern the conduct of media. UNESCO notes that "fact driven decision-making can significantly alter…political, social and economic perspectives" implying once again the responsibility that goes with the broader right to information.

Third

, UNESCO notes that Freedom of Information does not guarantee access. "Even if governments were to become models of disclosure… without a means to access that information, people would not be more empowered".[2] Hence, it gives equal importance for the State to work on building the necessary technological infrastructure and raising information literacy that will, ultimately, help the citizenry participate more meaningfully to public debate on matters of national importance.

We therefore express support to the bills pending before this Committee in light of this adduced UNESCO "template". Additionally, there is a need to balance the broader right advocated by the bills with ensuring that government operations will not be paralyzed by gratuitous requests for information. In this regard, we would like to refer to this Committee the following concerns relating to specific provisions of the proposed bills:

1. Access to information currently being used for decision-making or project management; Frequency of access to information currently being used. Government agencies are entrusted with specific functions in furtherance of certain public objectives. Normally included in these functions are policy-formulation or program management where information management is vital. The smooth exercise of these functions, where regularity of actions of public officers is presumed, may be put at risk if the government agencies are subjected to requests for information at every step of the way. Second-guessing the decisions of our public officers will undermine their effectiveness. Therefore, it is important to determine if information that is currently being used by government agencies for decision-making or project management will be made available already or if a reasonable lapse of time will be allowed before this is done, similar to declassification of documents by the military. The intention is not to hide information nor to limit frequency of access but only to ensure that government operations are not hampered.

2. Access to transcripts and minutes of official meetings may diminish candid and open discussions by public officers. Relatedly, open access to minutes or transcripts of official meetings may diminish candid and open discussions that characterize such meetings. Off-the-cuff remarks, characterizations, or outbursts that are recorded when important topics are tackled during these meetings may subject public officers or institutions to embarrassment or ridicule, even if this is not the intent of the person requesting for information. This is the reason why public or private institutions only provide official reports to outside parties, leaving out information that can only distract said outside parties. This is a salient point that needs to be addressed by the proposed bills.

In summary, we share this Committee’s view that information has become a highly potent tool for nation-building and that informed public participation in policy formulation is vital to the functioning of our democracy. To the extent that public access to information would help mobilize public support or remove any obstacle to the successful implementation of government policies or transactions, passage of this law has become an imperative.

SONNY COLOMA

Secretary, Presidential Communications

Operations Office (PCOO)