FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-list Representative Brian Poe-Llamanzares has renewed calls for the immediate passage of the Right to Information (RTI) bill, emphasizing its critical role in fostering transparency and public accountability within the government.
During a House Committee on Appropriations hearing on Wednesday, Poe-Llamanzares threw his full support behind an unnumbered substitute bill. The consolidated measure integrates several legislative proposals, including House Bill 1187, which marks the first bill the lawmaker filed upon entering Congress.
The legislator underscored that access to public records is a fundamental right of the citizenry.
“Ang bawat Pilipino ay may karapatan sa tapat, mabilis, at madaling ma-access na impormasyon mula sa kanilang pamahalaan,” Poe-Llamanzares said.
Every Filipino has the right to honest, fast, and easily accessible information from their government.
Invoking the legislative legacy of his mother, former Senator Grace Poe, the lawmaker explained that the proposed bill embodies the “Sunshine Principle”—the core belief that exposing government transactions to public scrutiny is the single most effective deterrent against corruption.
However, Poe-Llamanzares clarified that genuine transparency requires more than just legislation; it demands operational readiness. He noted that the policy can only succeed if state agencies are equipped with the proper facilities and technical capabilities to distribute information swiftly and efficiently.
According to the solon, the measure serves as a tool of empowerment, allowing ordinary Filipinos to monitor exactly how the government works for them.
“Sana ay suportahan ng komiteng ito ang pagpasa ng substitute bill sa Right to Information. Gawin na natin sa wakas na ang transparency ang maging pamantayan, at hindi isang exemption,” he appealed.
I hope this committee supports the passage of the substitute bill on Right to Information. Let us finally make transparency the standard, and not an exemption.
Poe-Llamanzares pressed his colleagues in the House of Representatives to seize the current legislative momentum, highlighting that both President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and House leadership remain receptive to institutional transparency reforms.