Passage of Freedom of Information Law (PH0062)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Philippines Action Plan 2019-2022
Action Plan Cycle: 2019
Status: Active
Institutions
Lead Institution: Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO)
Support Institution(s): NA
Policy Areas
Access to Information, Capacity Building, Gender, Judiciary, Justice, Legislation & Regulation, Marginalized Communities, Open Justice, Open Parliaments, Participation in Lawmaking, Public Participation, Right to Information, Subnational, Sustainable Development GoalsDescription
What is the problem the commitment addresses?
Section 7 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution emphasizes the right of the people to information on matters of public concern. However, 30 years since the first Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill was filed, the Philippine Congress has yet to pass a legislation that promotes access to information.
Lack of transparency and accountability which may contribute to corruption and inefficient public service delivery are a few of the major problems this commitment will address. Low (or lack of) participation from citizens due to lack of knowledge or information on how the government operates may also be addressed. Direct participation also constitutes a big challenge on account of large and growing population, thus, this commitment will also address insufficient mechanisms to promote and enhance citizen participation.
As of this writing, here are the developments:
● On July 2016, President Duterte signed Executive Order No. 2, s. 2016 (EO 2) entitled “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 Therefor”.
● On October 2018, the PCOO and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) issued a Joint Memorandum Circular reiterating EO 2 to the local government units. As of date, twenty (20) LGUs have successfully passed their ordinances: Province of Ilocos Norte; Province of Benguet; Province of Surigao Del Norte; Province of Bohol; Province of Masbate; Province of La Union; Province of Occidental, Mindoro;Municipality of Pakil, Laguna; Municipality of Torrijos, Marinduque; Municipality of San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte; Municipality of Infanta, Quezon; Municipality of Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro; Municipality of San Roque, Northern Samar; Municipality of Consolocion, Cebu; Pasig City; Laoag City, Ilocos Norte; Tuguegarao City; Antipolo City, Rizal; Legazpi City, Albay; and, Quezon City.
● Both chambers of Congress in the Philippines have their separate versions of the Freedom of Information Bill.
● In the second quarter of 2019, the FOI-PMO of the PCOO conducted stakeholder consultations with civil society organizations and non-government organizations regarding the draft Admin Version of the FOI Bill.
● On 15 July 2019, the FOI-PMO endorsed the Admin Version of the FOI Bill to the 18th Congress.
● On 21 August 2019, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles declared the FOI Bill as one of the priority bills, as identified by the Participatory Governance Cluster
What is the commitment?
To have Congress pass a legislation on access to information which will mandate the disclosure of government information—from all three branches to the general public. In the interim, to sustain and further expand the reach of the EO 2, the PCOO will strengthen its efforts on implementing access to information at the local level. The passage of a Freedom of Information Law is crucial for Filipino citizens to exercise their right to access government-held information. It empowers citizen participation in demanding for transparency and accountability from the government. The Law will mandate all branches of the government to disclose all documents as well as the procedures for accessing these documents.
See Action Plan for milestone activities
Commitments
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Citizen Participation in Local Government
PH0056, 2019, Capacity Building
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Participation in Local Tourism Development
PH0057, 2019, Capacity Building
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Basic Education Inputs Program
PH0058, 2019, Capacity Building
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Open Data Portal
PH0059, 2019, Access to Information
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Participatory Monitoring of Infrastructure Projects
PH0060, 2019, Capacity Building
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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
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Participatory Children's Health and Nutrition Program
PH0064, 2019, Gender
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Indigenous Representation in Local Legislative Councils
PH0065, 2019, E-Government
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Open Contracting Data Publication
PH0066, 2019, Access to Information
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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
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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
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Open Budget Index and Budget Reform Bill
PH0051, 2017, Access to Information
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Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
PH0052, 2017, Anti-Corruption
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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
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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
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Open Data
PH0031, 2015, Access to Information
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Extractive Industries' Transparency
PH0032, 2015, Anti-Corruption
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CSO Engagement in Public Audit
PH0033, 2015, Anti-Corruption
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Civic Enagement in Local Budget Planning
PH0034, 2015, Fiscal Openness
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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
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Improving Local Govs' Performance
PH0037, 2015, Capacity Building
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Improve the Ease of Doing Business
PH0038, 2015, Private Sector
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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
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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