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MANILA, Philippines – Those who wish to test President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order on Freedom of Information can do so starting November 25, the date of its effectivity, Malacañang said on Wednesday, November 9.
In anticipation of that day, the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) has held workshops for different departments to ensure compliance with EO 2.
“We have conducted workshops for the agencies of the Executive branch, aiming to ensure that all agencies will be able to institute their own internal procedures on handling the FOI requests,” Communication’s Secretary Martin Andanar said in a statement on Wednesday.
Duterte signed the FOI EO on July 23. According to EO 2, citizens can start making requests for information 120 days after the publication of the EO.
The type of information that can be requested under EO 2 include “official records, public records, and documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions,” as well as “government research data used as basis for policy development. ”
A draft manual for the implementation of EO 2 listed 166 exemptions to the kind of information that can be requested. Andanar had earlier said these exemptions are still being studied.
FOI requests can be made to all government offices under the Executive Branch, including government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) and state universities and colleges (SUCs).
Any Filipino citizen can make an FOI request as long as a government-issued ID is presented. Making the request itself is free of charge but government agencies may ask for a “reasonable fee for necessary costs, including costs of printing, reproduction and/or photocopying,” said PCOO.
A “People’s Manual” in each agency will provide the processes in making an FOI request.
FOI requests will pose a new challenge for agencies under the executive department.
“This is a new task for our fellow government workers. As we continue to learn the ropes, we will be able to craft mechanisms that may further improve efficiency, because this resolve to promote transparency is a big leap for the country’s progress,” said Andanar.
The workshops on FOI request processing were conducted with the help of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), National Privacy Commission (NPC), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), National Archives of the Philippines (NAP), and the World Bank. – Pia Ranada/Rappler.com
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