Filipino Senator Teofisto “TG” D. Guingona III has filed a bill called the “Crowdsourcing Act of 2012.” In a nice touch, he is also seeking public comments to improve it. The bill goes beyond other similar proposals aimed at opening up the legislative process in requiring the body to not just post the text of proposed bills and committee work online, but calls on several steps to ensure much greater public participation, including:
allowing the public to comment online on bills;
making those comments part of the permanent public record;
publishing the schedule of committee hearings online;
the creation of online mechanisms for collecting and displaying public feedback.
“When people are allowed to participate, we have better laws,” Guingona told the Philippine Star. “When people are allowed to participate, we have better people,” he said.
Guingona is also a vocal supporter of online freedom, and has taken a leading role in the debate over proposed measures to prevent “cybercrime” in the Philippines.