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Philippines

Passage of Freedom of Information Law (PH0062)

Overview

At-a-Glance

Action Plan: Philippines Action Plan 2019-2021

Action Plan Cycle: 2019

Status: Active

Institutions

Lead Institution: Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO)

Support Institution(s): NA

Policy Areas

Capacity Building, Gender, Judiciary, Justice, Legislation & Regulation, Legislature, Marginalized Communities, Public Participation, Right to Information, Subnational, Sustainable Development Goals

IRM Review

IRM Report: Pending IRM Review

Starred: Pending IRM Review

Early Results: Pending IRM Review

Design i

Verifiable: Pending IRM Review

Relevant to OGP Values: Pending IRM Review

Potential Impact: Pending IRM Review

Implementation i

Completion: Pending IRM Review

Description

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

  1. Citizen Participation in Local Government

    PH0056, 2019, Capacity Building

  2. Participation in Local Tourism Development

    PH0057, 2019, Capacity Building

  3. Basic Education Inputs Program

    PH0058, 2019, Capacity Building

  4. Open Data Portal

    PH0059, 2019, Capacity Building

  5. Participatory Monitoring of Infrastructure Projects

    PH0060, 2019, Capacity Building

  6. Implement EITI

    PH0061, 2019, Beneficial Ownership

  7. Passage of Freedom of Information Law

    PH0062, 2019, Capacity Building

  8. Labor Inclusivity and Dispute Resolution

    PH0063, 2019, Capacity Building

  9. Participatory Children's Health and Nutrition Program

    PH0064, 2019, Gender

  10. Indigenous Representation in Local Legislative Councils

    PH0065, 2019, E-Government

  11. Open Contracting Data Publication

    PH0066, 2019, Audits and Controls

  12. Civil Society Participation to Improve LGU Service Delivery

    PH0042, 2017, Capacity Building

  13. Engage Communities in the Fight Against Corruption, Criminality and Illegal Drugs

    PH0043, 2017, Capacity Building

  14. Ease of Doing Business:Competitiveness

    PH0044, 2017, Legislation & Regulation

  15. Ease of Doing Business: Philippines’ Anti-Red Tape Challenge)

    PH0045, 2017, Capacity Building

  16. Citizen Participatory Audit)

    PH0046, 2017, Audits and Controls

  17. 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center

    PH0047, 2017, Public Participation

  18. Government Feedback Mechanism

    PH0048, 2017, Capacity Building

  19. Access to Information Legislation

    PH0049, 2017, Capacity Building

  20. e-Participation Through the National Government Portal

    PH0050, 2017, Citizenship and Immigration

  21. Open Budget Index and Budget Reform Bill

    PH0051, 2017, E-Government

  22. Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

    PH0052, 2017, Beneficial Ownership

  23. Institutional Mechanisms for Disaster Response

    PH0053, 2017, E-Government

  24. Shelter Development for Informal Settler Families

    PH0054, 2017, E-Government

  25. Open Local Legislative Processes

    PH0055, 2017, E-Government

  26. Law on ATI

    PH0029, 2015, Right to Information

  27. Transparency of Local Govs Plans and Budgets

    PH0030, 2015, Fiscal Transparency

  28. Open Data

    PH0031, 2015, Open Data

  29. Extractive Industries' Transparency

    PH0032, 2015, Extractive Industries

  30. CSO Engagement in Public Audit

    PH0033, 2015,

  31. Civic Enagement in Local Budget Planning

    PH0034, 2015, Participation in Budget Processes

  32. Civic Enagement in Local Budget Planning – Community Capacity-Building

    PH0035, 2015, Capacity Building

  33. Improving Public Service Delivery

    PH0036, 2015, Public Participation

  34. Improving Local Govs' Performance

    PH0037, 2015, Capacity Building

  35. Improve the Ease of Doing Business

    PH0038, 2015, Private Sector

  36. Local Government Competitiveness

    PH0039, 2015, Capacity Building

  37. Public and Private Sector Dialogue

    PH0040, 2015, Private Sector

  38. Improving Corporate Accountability

    PH0041, 2015, Private Sector

  39. Sustain Transparency in National Government Plans and Budgets

    PH0020, 2013, E-Government

  40. Support for the Passage of Legislations on Access to Information and Protection of Whistleblowers

    PH0021, 2013, Legislation & Regulation

  41. Engage Civil Society in Public Audit

    PH0022, 2013, Public Participation

  42. Enhance Performance Benchmarks for Local Governance

    PH0023, 2013, Capacity Building

  43. Enhance the Government Procurement System

    PH0024, 2013, E-Government

  44. Strengthen Grassroots Participation in Local Planning and Budgeting

    PH0025, 2013, Participation in Budget Processes

  45. Provide More Accessible Government Data in a Single Portal and Open Format

    PH0026, 2013, E-Government

  46. Starred commitment Initiate Fiscal Transparency in the Extractive Industry

    PH0027, 2013, Extractive Industries

  47. Starred commitment Improve the Ease of Doing Business

    PH0028, 2013, Private Sector

  48. Disclose Executive Budgets

    PH0001, 2011, Fiscal Transparency

  49. Access to Information Initiative

    PH0002, 2011, Right to Information

  50. Broader CSO Engagement

    PH0003, 2011, OGP

  51. Participatory Budget Roadmap

    PH0004, 2011, Participation in Budget Processes

  52. Local Poverty Reduction

    PH0005, 2011, Subnational

  53. Empowerment Fund

    PH0006, 2011, Capacity Building

  54. Social Audit

    PH0007, 2011, Public Participation

  55. Results-Based Performance

    PH0008, 2011, Capacity Building

  56. Performance-Based Budgeting

    PH0009, 2011, Capacity Building

  57. Citizen’S Charters

    PH0010, 2011, Capacity Building

  58. Internal Audit

    PH0011, 2011, Audits and Controls

  59. Single Portal for Information

    PH0012, 2011, E-Government

  60. Integrated Financial Management System

    PH0013, 2011, E-Government

  61. Electronic Bidding

    PH0014, 2011, E-Government

  62. Procurement Cards

    PH0015, 2011, Open Contracting and Procurement

  63. Manpower Information System

    PH0016, 2011, E-Government

  64. Expand the National Household Targeting System (NHTS)

    PH0017, 2011, Public Participation

  65. e-TAILS

    PH0018, 2011, E-Government

  66. Budget Ng Bayan

    PH0019, 2011, Fiscal Transparency