57 persons butchered but dat's okay, we have a political agenda to protect first..

EDITORIAL - Once again, the Freedom of Information Act

Protest marches were staged and calls for justice renewed the other day as the nation marked one year since 57 people were butchered in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao. The wheels of justice will not move quickly enough for the heirs of the victims, more than half of whom were media workers. But there’s something that can be done quicker than the court trial, which could discourage the creation of more monsters like the ones who were responsible for the worst case of political violence in this country: Congress can finally pass the Freedom of Information Act.

Only public officials with something to hide will prevent the passage of a law that seeks to promote transparency and good governance. Many of these officials, unfortunately, are in the legislature, ready to go through the motions of deliberating on freedom of information proposals, and then making sure there will be a technicality or at least one dissenting voice that will prevent final approval of the measure. This moro-moro has been going on for about a decade, and it remains to be seen whether the 15th Congress will be any different as it once again takes up the Freedom of Information Bill.

Transparency, which is boosted by media access to public records, can help prevent the creation of an environment in which government officials believe political power is their birthright and they wield the power of life and death. Transparency promotes good governance, which enhances poverty alleviation and development – two things that are desperately needed by Maguin-danao and the rest of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

More than half of the massacre suspects are still at large and most may escape punishment. The militias, used by the Ampatuans as their private army, aren’t about to be dismantled; President Aquino and his security officials believe the paramilitary units are still needed as “force multipliers” especially in the conflict areas of Mindanao.

Beyond improving the enforcement of gun laws and speeding up the prosecution of those who have been arrested, particularly the accused principal players belonging to the Ampatuan clan, what else can be done to discourage the blatant abuse of power? The enactment of the Freedom of Information Act would be a big leap forward.

From The Philippines Star, Nov.25