Salient points of new FOI bill

HERE ARE some of the important points from the version of the Freedom of Information bill that Malacanang is set to certify as urgent before Congress. Bear in mind that the so-called Palace version is in large part the result of the hard work and at times adversarial role played by civil society groups in getting President Benigno S. Aquino III to finally push an FOI measure before Congress.

• Section 2 says that the State recognizes the right of people to information on matters of public concern, and adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions.
• Section 4 states that every Filipino has a right to access to any record under the control of a government agencies. Any agency must make available for scrutiny, copying, and reproduction all information pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions, except if these are covered by exceptions enumerated in the law.
• Section 5 of the new FOI bill states that legal presumption will always be in favor of access to information, except when the circumstances are covered by the exemptions stated in the proposed law.
• Section 6 enumerates the exceptions to the FOI rule. These include: national security and defense data whose revelation may cause grave damage to national security and internal or external defense of the state; information pertaining to foreign affairs, the revelation of which would unduly weaken the country’s negotiating position; records of minutes and the advice given, or opinions expressed during decision-making and policy formulation, as invoked by the Chief Executive as privileged information by reason of the sensitivity of the subject or the possible impairment of the deliberative process. However, once the policy in question has been formulated, the minutes and the research data may be made available unless the information was released during executive session. Also, the Executive must release an executive order that specifies a reasonable period after which information must be declassified or subjected to declassification review.
• Section 7 provides for the mandatory disclosure of the statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) on the official websites of government. These include the SALNs of the President, the Vice President, members of the cabinet, members of Congress, and the Supreme Court, members of constitutional commissions, and officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines with flag rank. as well, government agencies must upload in their websites public interest documents and records such as the annual budgets of the agency, monthly collections and disbursements, summary of income and expenditures, IRA utilization, procurement plans and lists, items to bid, bid results, procurement contracts, construction and concession agreements, public funding extended to private entities, bilateral or multilateral agreements, and lists of persons who are granted licenses, permits, or agreements for the extraction or use of natural resources.
• Section 12 states that public officials who violate the FOI law would be guilty of gross neglect of duty, which would be grounds for administrative and disciplinary sanction.
• Section 13 provides that any official who falsely denies or conceals the existence of the information being sought shall be criminally liable for the crime of removal, concealment, or destruction of documents as defined under Article 226 of the Revised Penal Code.
• Section 16 provides the procedure for the access of information. Individuals may submit their request for information to the agency in question personally, by mail, or by electronic means. The requesting party must also state his name and his reason for his request; however, the reason given shall not be used as a ground to deny the request for information, unless that reason is contrary to law. Agencies must comply with the request within 15 days after receipt of the request. That deadline may be extended when the information requested requires a search in a field or a satellite office of the agency.
• Section 18 states that in the event an agency denies the request, it should notify the requesting party within 15 days, and clearly explain the grounds for denial. The requesting party then has 15 days to file an appeal with the head of the agency, or file a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman, which must then resolve the issue within 60 days.

Those who wish to read the complete bill now being endorsed by Malacanang may view the document here.