Law on ATI (PH0029)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Philippines National Action Plan 2015-2017
Action Plan Cycle: 2015
Status: Inactive
Institutions
Lead Institution: Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (access to information)
Support Institution(s): Congress, Presidential Legislative Liaison Office; Right to Know, Right Now Coalition
Policy Areas
Access to Information, Right to InformationIRM Review
IRM Report: Philippines End-of-Term Report 2015-2017
Starred: No
Early Results: Marginal
Design i
Verifiable: No
Relevant to OGP Values: Access to Information
Implementation i
Description
The main objective is to pass an access to information law. Passage of the current Freedom of Information bill will mandate the disclosure of government information to the general public. The Freedom of Information (FOI) bill is crucial to institutionalize transparency since it will mandate the disclosure of public documents, as well as the procedures for accessing these documents. Passage of the FOI bill will ensure that government efforts on transparency become the norm and can make government more open as disclosure of public data will be institutionalized.
IRM Midterm Status Summary
For Commitment details, see https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/philippines-mid-term-progress-report-2015-2017.
IRM End of Term Status Summary
1. Law on Access to Information
Commitment Text:
The main objective is to pass an access to information law. Passage of the current Freedom of Information bill will mandate the disclosure of government information to the general public. The Freedom of Information (FOI) bill is crucial to institutionalize transparency since it will mandate the disclosure of public documents, as well as the procedures for accessing these documents. Passage of the FOI bill will ensure that government efforts on transparency become the norm and can make government more open as disclosure of public data will be institutionalized.
Milestones:
Organize, through Philippine OGP, Roundtable Discussions/Workshops on the substantive provisions of the FOI bill with pilot agencies as part of mainstreaming of FOI and confidence building relating thereto preparatory to the implementation of the FOI Act by 2015.
Responsible institution: Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (access to information)
Supporting institutions: Congress, Presidential Legislative Liaison Office; Right to Know Right Now Coalition
Start date: 1 January 2015
End date: 2016
Commitment Aim
This commitment aimed to contribute to the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) law and address the continuing challenge of access to, and use of, high-quality and relevant information. This was to be done by convening roundtable discussions and workshops, which would have served as consensus-building processes to move the access to information agenda forward.
Status
Midterm: Limited
By May 2016, the Philippines made limited progress toward this commitment. The Executive, mainly through the Department of Budget and Management and the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (the responsible agency), was unsuccessful in its push for the FOI law, which was not passed by Congress.
On 20 August 2015, the Right to Know Right Now (RKRN) coalition announced its withdrawal from the Steering Committee, “putting the blame squarely on President Aquino (and the leadership of the House of Representatives)…for not mustering the political will to honor his campaign pact with the people to assure the passage of FOI.”[Note: Right to Know Right Now. “The FOI Bill is Dead.” Statement released on 20 August 2015. ] While FOI bill was discussed in Steering Committee meetings, and in other civil society meetings, this did not impact the legislative process.
End of term: Limited
On 23 June 2016, the government passed an FOI executive order that operationalized the people’s constitutional right to information.[Note: Executive Order on Freedom of Information http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2016/07/23/executive-order-no-02-s-2016/. ] By June 2017, the government had made progress toward passing FOI by securing sponsorship and committee-level approval. The government also begun to promote FOI, including releasing an FOI manual, launching an online portal for lodging requests, and publishing a report by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).[Note: PH-OGP End-of-Term Self-Assessment Report. October 9, 2017. https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Philippines_End-of_Term_Self-Assessment_2015-2017.pdf. ],[Note: Mid-year Report on the implementation of Executive Order (EO) No. 02, s. 2016 or the Freedom of Information (FOI) Program in the Executive Branch. https://www.foi.gov.ph/resources. ] According to the self-assessment report, the government considers this commitment to be substantially completed. However, the FOI bill was not included in the list of common priority bills released by the president and Congress in August 2017.[Note: Palace, Congress agree on target bills. 31 August 2017. BusinessWorld. http://bworldonline.com/palace-congress-agree-target-bills/. ] The IRM researcher has marked this commitment as limited because the bill’s passage remains pending, its status in Congress is uncertain, and the president’s support is vague.
Did It Open Government?
Access to Information: Marginal
The government has taken steps to address its lack of transparency and to provide citizens with addition opportunities for accessing information. This includes passing the Executive Order, publishing the FOI manual, and launching the online portal for FOI. However, it remains to be seen whether these will make a difference in citizens’ access to and use of information. Officials in the Executive’s FOI program pointed out that securing the participation of other agencies had been a problem: 'There are some agencies that feel that the information they disclose have some kind of intellectual property ownership,' said Kris Ablan, Assistant Secretary of the Executive's FOI program.[Note: Some gov't agencies still 'reluctant' to grant public access to information: Palace official. June 30, 2017. Abs-Cbn News. http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/30/17/some-govt-agencies-still-reluctant-to-grant-public-access-to-information-palace-official. ] The Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) has reported mixed results when filing requests through the online portal: out of 503 requests filed between late November and mid-March 2017, 183 requests were denied, 166 granted, and 154 were pending as of 17 March 2017. XX[Note: The Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism FOI requests
http://pcij.org/stories/183-denied-166-granted-154-pending/. ]XX According to PCIJ, requests were responded to according to whether the requested information was filed with the correct agency and if the agency providing the information was enrolled in the FOI program.[Note: Ibid] So far, only 64 of 200 agencies have enrolled in the program.[Note: Ibid] However, a PCOO report from 15 June 2017 claimed, “108 agencies are on-boarded in the FOI portal, 16 departments, 74 NGAs and 18 GOCCs.”[Note: Mid-year Review of the Implimentation of FOI https://www.foi.gov.ph/downloads/FOI_REPORT_six_months.pdf]
Other recent reports put the state of access to information in negative light. For example, the National Police refused to provide the Commission on Human Rights access to reports detailing alleged cases of extrajudicial killing without the approval of the president.[Note: Duterte unlikely to give CHR access to case folders. 9 September 2017. Inquirer.net. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/929081/philippine-news-updates-commission-on-human-rights-president-duterte-drug-killings. ] Another example has been the redaction by the government in the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net-worth (SALN) of some of the members of the Cabinet.[Note: Redactions in Duterte Cabinet's latest SALNs 'deal-breaker' for FOI – PCIJ. 22 September 2017. Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/nation/183046-redactions-cabinet-members-saln-deal-breaker-foi-pcij. ] As stated above, the fact that the FOI law is not among the president’s priority bills is another indication that the bill may not be passed.
Carried Forward?
This commitment has been carried over to the next action plan. The aim of the new commitment is to pass FOI legislation, though the deliverables include continued implementation of the FOI Executive Order and the use of online portal. The IRM researcher recommends that the other deliverables and actions be linked to the legislation through a concerted that draws attention to the limits of practice due to absence of an FOI law. Stakeholders from all levels need to put pressure on the president and on Congress to prioritize FOI. This includes the media, civil society, government agencies, and ordinary citizens. Ultimately, this commitment can only be judged as completed if the FOI law is passed.
Commitments
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Citizen Participation in Local Government
PH0056, 2019, Capacity Building
-
Participation in Local Tourism Development
PH0057, 2019, Capacity Building
-
Basic Education Inputs Program
PH0058, 2019, Capacity Building
-
Open Data Portal
PH0059, 2019, Access to Information
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Participatory Monitoring of Infrastructure Projects
PH0060, 2019, Capacity Building
-
Implement EITI
PH0061, 2019, Access to Information
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Passage of Freedom of Information Law
PH0062, 2019, Access to Information
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Labor Inclusivity and Dispute Resolution
PH0063, 2019, Access to Justice
-
Participatory Children's Health and Nutrition Program
PH0064, 2019, Gender
-
Indigenous Representation in Local Legislative Councils
PH0065, 2019, E-Government
-
Open Contracting Data Publication
PH0066, 2019, Access to Information
-
Civil Society Participation to Improve LGU Service Delivery
PH0042, 2017, Access to Information
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Engage Communities in the Fight Against Corruption, Criminality and Illegal Drugs
PH0043, 2017, Capacity Building
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Ease of Doing Business:Competitiveness
PH0044, 2017, Legislation & Regulation
-
Ease of Doing Business: Philippines’ Anti-Red Tape Challenge)
PH0045, 2017, Capacity Building
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Citizen Participatory Audit)
PH0046, 2017, Anti-Corruption
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8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center
PH0047, 2017, Public Participation
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Government Feedback Mechanism
PH0048, 2017, Capacity Building
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Access to Information Legislation
PH0049, 2017, Access to Information
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e-Participation Through the National Government Portal
PH0050, 2017, Access to Information
-
Open Budget Index and Budget Reform Bill
PH0051, 2017, Access to Information
-
Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
PH0052, 2017, Anti-Corruption
-
Institutional Mechanisms for Disaster Response
PH0053, 2017, Access to Information
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Shelter Development for Informal Settler Families
PH0054, 2017, Access to Information
-
Open Local Legislative Processes
PH0055, 2017, E-Government
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Law on ATI
PH0029, 2015, Access to Information
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Transparency of Local Govs Plans and Budgets
PH0030, 2015, Fiscal Openness
-
Open Data
PH0031, 2015, Access to Information
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Extractive Industries' Transparency
PH0032, 2015, Anti-Corruption
-
CSO Engagement in Public Audit
PH0033, 2015, Anti-Corruption
-
Civic Enagement in Local Budget Planning
PH0034, 2015, Fiscal Openness
-
Civic Enagement in Local Budget Planning – Community Capacity-Building
PH0035, 2015, Capacity Building
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Improving Public Service Delivery
PH0036, 2015, Public Participation
-
Improving Local Govs' Performance
PH0037, 2015, Capacity Building
-
Improve the Ease of Doing Business
PH0038, 2015, Private Sector
-
Local Government Competitiveness
PH0039, 2015, Access to Information
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Public and Private Sector Dialogue
PH0040, 2015, Private Sector
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Improving Corporate Accountability
PH0041, 2015, Private Sector
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Sustain Transparency in National Government Plans and Budgets
PH0020, 2013, E-Government
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Support for the Passage of Legislations on Access to Information and Protection of Whistleblowers
PH0021, 2013, Access to Information
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Engage Civil Society in Public Audit
PH0022, 2013, Anti-Corruption
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Enhance Performance Benchmarks for Local Governance
PH0023, 2013, Capacity Building
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Enhance the Government Procurement System
PH0024, 2013, Anti-Corruption
-
Strengthen Grassroots Participation in Local Planning and Budgeting
PH0025, 2013, Fiscal Openness
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Provide More Accessible Government Data in a Single Portal and Open Format
PH0026, 2013, Access to Information
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Initiate Fiscal Transparency in the Extractive Industry
PH0027, 2013, Anti-Corruption
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Improve the Ease of Doing Business
PH0028, 2013, Private Sector
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Disclose Executive Budgets
PH0001, 2011, Fiscal Openness
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Access to Information Initiative
PH0002, 2011, Access to Information
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Broader CSO Engagement
PH0003, 2011, Public Participation
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Participatory Budget Roadmap
PH0004, 2011, Fiscal Openness
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Local Poverty Reduction
PH0005, 2011, Public Participation
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Empowerment Fund
PH0006, 2011, Capacity Building
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Social Audit
PH0007, 2011, Anti-Corruption
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Results-Based Performance
PH0008, 2011, Capacity Building
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Performance-Based Budgeting
PH0009, 2011, Capacity Building
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Citizen’S Charters
PH0010, 2011, Capacity Building
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Internal Audit
PH0011, 2011, Anti-Corruption
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Single Portal for Information
PH0012, 2011, Access to Information
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Integrated Financial Management System
PH0013, 2011, E-Government
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Electronic Bidding
PH0014, 2011, Anti-Corruption
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Procurement Cards
PH0015, 2011, Anti-Corruption
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Manpower Information System
PH0016, 2011, E-Government
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Expand the National Household Targeting System (NHTS)
PH0017, 2011, Public Participation
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e-TAILS
PH0018, 2011, E-Government
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Budget Ng Bayan
PH0019, 2011, Fiscal Openness