The House Committee on Public Information is moving to include the public disclosure of Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of government officials and employees in the proposed Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Parañaque City 2nd District Representative Brian Yamsuan said that during the technical working group (TWG) meeting on Monday, no member objected to the inclusion of SALN publication, provided it complies with existing laws and standards.
Yamsuan explained that the TWG seeks to balance the public’s right to access government information with the need to protect personal data under the Data Privacy Act.
The group has already completed discussions on 32 of the bill’s 52 sections, including provisions on remedies when agencies deny requests and accountability for withholding information.
“The pace of the discussions in our TWG meetings reflect our collective goal in pushing the passage of this landmark piece of legislation and our shared commitment to transparency and accountability in government,” said Yamsuan, who serves as vice chairperson of the committee.
He also thanked fellow lawmakers, government officials, civil society groups, and RTI advocates for their inputs in refining the measure.
The next deliberation will tackle exemptions to the RTI bill, such as information related to national security.
Yamsuan noted that 20 separate RTI proposals are being consolidated into one substitute bill.
“We are optimistic that we can submit a committee report soon so that the House would have enough time to deliberate the substitute bill on the floor and have it approved on third and final reading before the sine die adjournment of the first regular session in June,” he added.
The RTI bill is part of the priority legislative agenda of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council.