Duterte signs FOI orderON THE eve of President Rodrigo Duterte’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA), Malacañang announced the signing of an executive order (EO) that “operationalizes” Freedom of Information (FOI), a constitutionally guaranteed right that was never implemented until today. Duterte will face Congress today to lay down his legislative agenda, including the need to legislate an FOI measure so that disclosures of information could cover all branches of government, not just the executive. The public official receiving the request shall provide reasonable assistance, free of charge. But the Palace official clarified that there will be “exceptions.”“Access to information shall be denied when the information falls under any of the exceptions enshrined in the Constitution, existing law or jurisprudence. The EO on the FOI is a landmark measure as the bill has languished in the legislature for 29 years, or since the ratification of the 1987 Constitution.

Source: Manila Times July 24, 2016 05:03 UTC