Duterte: FOI to be an EO – PRESIDENTIAL race front runner and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is all out for Freedom of Information (FOI), but he is not promising to prioritize a law such as what all his predecessors have done in the past and ending up with nothing by the end of their terms.
This time, Duterte said, he will start with the executive department which as president will be fully under him.
“Kung ayaw ng Congress I will start progressively. Para walang satsat, walang yakyak, day one, basta pataas na, huwag na pabalik kasi magulo yan (If Congress refuses to pass such a law, I will start on it progressively. Let’s cut to the chase. From day one, although this will not be retroactive since ordering so will create a very chaotic situation). FOI, I will impose it on my department, executive department,” he told a group of reporters around past midnight of May 10, 2016, after election day.
Duterte said he sees nothing if the public will scrutinize the executive department’s operations since he has vowed a fight against corruption under his administration.
“Unahan ko na. I will issue an executive order. All. Hindi na kailangan ng batas,” he said.
Media can have free access to dig into documents, he said, even without having a law passed. But that will only cover the executive department.
“Hindi ko kaya ang judiciary pati Congress that is not my territory. We are a divided governmental structure,” he said.
“Walang problema yan sa akin, I will impose it immediately,” he added.
Source: sunstar
