President Duterte signs Freedom of Information

It took former president Benigno Aquino III six years, but newly-elected President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has finally signed a Freedom of Information order on the third week of his presidency.

The Executive Order was his second, after signing EO no. 1 titled "Reengineering the Office of the President Towards Greater Responsiveness to the Attainment of Development Goals" on July 4, 2016.

PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar

Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) secretary Martin Andanar said in a press conference in Davao City that President Duterte signed the E.O. on July 23, 7:00 pm. 

"We are now holding a final copy of an E.O. on the FOI [...] After 29 years of fighting to strengthen the right to freedom of information," he said. President Duterte will be having his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 25 at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.

People's Right to Information

The Executive Order mandates a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest as it recognizes democracy. It is meant to enhance transparency and accountability in government official acts, transactions, and decisions.

It includes all executive branch offices, departments, bureaus, offices, and agencies. The order also covers government-owned and controlled corporations, as well as state universities and colleges. (Section 2)

Vitaliano Aguirre II on Chief Justice
Renato Corona's trial, (2011)

Jose Calida, Solicitor General

The E.O. no. 2 directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) headed by Vitaliano Aguirre II and the Office of the Solicitor General headed by Jose Calida to prepare an inventory of exceptions which will deny access to information if it falls under the constitution, existing laws, or jurisprudence. Submissions must be sent to the Office of the President on or before August 22. (Section 4)

All public officials are therein obligated to file their Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) for public scrutiny. (Section 5)

No request for information shall be denied and will be treated with legal presumption. The Head of the Office where the requestor goes to will determine the application of exceptions as prescribed in the Constitution or law.

The Head or his designated officer must be reasonable so that no exceptions will be used to deny access to information especially if the denial is done to cover up a crime, wrongdoing, graft or corruption. (Section 6)

Officials shall afford full protection to the right of privacy of the individual.

Personal information will be disclosed or released if it is relevant to the request. Government offices should insinuate reasonable security arrangements against leaks or premature disclosure of personal information which unnecessarily exposes the individual. Such is done to prevent vilification, harassment, or any other wrongful acts on the person whose information was requested by.

The Executive Branch of the Government

Plus, employees or higher-ups of a government office must not disclose any information in the custody of their office unless authorized by the Executive Order. (Section 7)

Government offices are given 120 calendar days (November 20, 2016) to prepare their own "People's FOI Manual."

The Manual must include the location and contact information of the person who the public can obtain information or submit requests to. It stipulates the rules of procedure for the filing and processing of the requests. There are also fillable forms for the submission and acknowledgement of requests. Moreover, it includes the procedure for an administrative appeal of any denial for access to information. (Section 8)

Public officials must provide reasonable assistance without any charge to enable requestors to comply to the requirements for access to records. The office must respond immediately to the request if they will grant or deny access not exceeding 15 days after the submission. The deadline may be extended if the office needs to search through documents thoroughly, to examine lengthy records, or if an accident occurred. The office must notify the requestor on the possibility of an extension. However, it must not overlap 20 working days unless circumstances warrant a longer period. (Section 9)

If the office failed to notify requestors within 15 working days, the request will be deemed as a denial to access of information. (Section 12)

Requestors may appeal if denied to the person or office next higher in authority. The written appeal must be filed on the period of fifteen days from the notice of denial or failure to respond to the request.

If the officer fails to decide within 30 working days, it will be deemed a denial of the appeal.

The requestor, under the abovementioned case, may file an appropriate case in the proper courts as written in the Rules of Court. (Section 13) 

All government offices are ordered to maintain complete records of important information in appropriate formats. They must set up a records management system that will facilitate easy identification, retrieval and communication of information to the public. (Section 14)

Note

The information written above is subjected to the personal interpretation and understanding of the writer. To be knowledgeable about the Executive Order no. 2 titled "Operationalizing in the Executive Branch the People's Constitutional Right to Information and the State Policies of Full Public Disclosure and Transparency in the Public Service and Providing Guidelines Therefore," read up the full text as it is released to the public.

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