A MATTER OF PUBLIC CONCERN

It is appalling to see the extent to which a public official would go in preventing, or penalizing, the release of information relating to the policies and functions of her office - information that should be open to public disclosure and scrutiny in the first place. Government Service and Insurance System (GSIS) Vice President Ella E. Valencerina did just that when she charged broadcast journalist Cecilia "Cheche" Lazaro and other ABC-CBN people for violation of Republic Act No. 4200, or the Anti-wire Tapping Act, after Lazaro's phone interview of Valencerina was allegedly aired without the latter's consent on the TV program "Probe" in November of last year.

The phone conversation between Lazaro and Valencerina is about the entitlement policy of the GSIS, which became part of a Probe episode entitled, "Perwisyong Benepisyo." The episode was obviously prompted by complaints against the policy from GSIS members, particularly public school teachers. Under the GSIS's entitlement policy, members can avail of their benefits based only on the amount of premiums paid by them, instead of their length of service in the government. Affected public school teachers are protesting this scheme because, according to them, they have been unfairly deprived of their benefits since the Department of Education, through which their premium payments were being coursed through, has not been regularly remitting payments for them.

Although Lazaro's claim that she sought Valencerina's permission to air the conversation prior to the interview would be her word against that of Valencerina, there apparently being no documented evidence to support it, that should be the least of Lazaro's concerns. What is essential here is that the information given by Valencerina is a matter of public concern and, therefore, is covered by the constitutional right to information. Valencerina was the vice president of GSIS - a government entity that is being sustained by public funds and taxpayers' money - at the time the phone conversation was made. The subject of the discussion concerns the entitlement policy of the GSIS that affects hundreds, if not thousands, of government employees who are members of the program.

The idea that the recording and broadcasting of the Lazaro-Valencerina telephone conversation, without Valencerina's consent, is a violation of the Anti-wire Tapping Act (AWTA) is downright preposterous and shows yet another attempt by a government functionary to curtail free speech. The AWTA only protects against unwanted recording and disclosure of private communications. Let me repeat that, private communications. Any communication made by an incumbent government official concerning the policies and functions of his or her office in response to an inquiry by the public, be they in the media or not, is public and not private communication. There is no expectation of privacy here, especially so in relation to the phone conversation at issue; Valencerina is expected to know that her conversation on a matter of public concern with a known journalist like Chehe Lazaro will be published. This is even more accentuated by the fact that Velencerino is also the head of GSIS's Public Relations and Communications Office.

It is also worth mentioning here that under Section 4 (e) of Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct for Public Officials and Employees, public officials are required to "provide information of their policies and procedures in clear and understandable language" and "ensure openness of information." Thus, when Valencerina responded to Lazaro's telephone interview she was clearly acting in the performance of her duties as vice president and communications officer of GSIS. Again, to disabuse the minds of those who will try to seek refuge on the limitations for the disclosure of official information, the information she gave concerns a policy of her agency that affects the entitlement to benefits of several government employees, and not matters of security or personal information of individuals.

Unmasked of its pretentions, the clear purpose of this suit against Chehe Lazaro and company is retribution and attack against press freedom. If Valencerina did not like the exposure of her agency's questionable policy and the airing of grievances against it, the solution is not to attack free speech but to sit down with the stakeholders - whom she is duty-bound to serve - and either defend the soundness of the policy or come up with a mutually acceptable solution. Her action only exacerbated the situation and exposed her pettiness.