“This time it will not be killed.”

Thus vowed Quezon Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tanada III as he aired strong optimism Friday that the next leadership of the House of Representatives will back the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill that was “killed” during the just concluded 14th Congress.

Tanada was among the FOI backers in the Lower House to re-file the measure that is considered among the major steps that would guarantee transparency and accountability in the government.

A number of versions of the FOI bill have been filed since the unofficial start of the 15th Congress on Monday.

Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casino joined the long line of bill filers at the Bills and Index Division of the Lower House to submit a “stronger” version of the FOI bill.

Docketted as HB 133, the Casino version included a provision that allows the public absolute and mandatory access to matters of official information, public concern and public interest.

"As far as Congress is concerned, this, not the wang-wang or counter-flow issue, is the first acid test of the Aquino government's commitment to good governance," Casiño said.

"If the Aquino administration is serious in its platform of good governance, it should exert extra effort to have this bill passed. Considering that a similar proposal was already approved by the previous House, it would not be unreasonable to expect this to be approved within two to three months," Casiño said.

Fellow Bayan Muna Rep. Nery Colmenares co-authored the bill.

A new provision included in the bill is the declassification of all classified information contained in all government agency records that are more than 25 years old and have been determined to have historical value.

The 14th Congress version of the bill had already passed the regular legislative route until lack of quorum put an end to it.

Authors of the bill accused the Arroyo government of having a hand in blocking approval of the proposal.

“It is important to send a message to the new Congress that this is of the highest priority. The public has a constitutional right to know, which it is now demanding. The public cannot be denied; it is the source of our mandate. Every time we go against it, we fail in our duty to represent the people,” said Tanada.

Tanada is apparently pinning hopes of approval to the change in leadership in the Lower House from Arroyo’s allies into her foes, who belong to the Liberal Party.