ENTATIVES
a. CEIVED

Republic of the Philippines) pate, 25 WUL 2010
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ars" ws
Quezon City |
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Sess
House Bil No. 1855

RECISTRATION UNIT
BILLS ANU INDEX SERVICE

Introduced by Hon. Sol Aragones

EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Constitution, Article 3, Section 7, provides:

Section 7. The right of the people to information on matters of public
concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents and
papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to
government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be
afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.

More than 90 countries have a freedom of information law. This shows a trend
towards granting the public greater access to government information. In the Philippines, it
has been more than 20 years since the first bill on freedom of information was filed in

Congress.

This bill gives flesh to the freedom of information as enshrined in our Constitution. It
allows the access of government records to pave the way for a better check on the operations
of government. The public is the most effective watchdog of government and it is about time
that their rights are protected through legislation. Information empowers our people and
makes for a more intelligent electorate. Denying access to public records will only weaken
our democratic institutions as our leaders are made less accountable to the people they are

duty bound to serve.

This bill is based on the consolidated bill in the Sixteenth Congress after approval by
the technical working group. The early adoption of this bill is thus earnestly requested.



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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session,

House Bill No. 1899

Introduced by Hon. Sol Aragones

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN THE RIGHT OF CITIZENS TO
INFORMATION HELD BY THE GOVERNMENT

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SECTION. 1. Short Tit
Information Act of 2014.”

— This Act shall be known as the "People’s Freedom of

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ The State recognizes the right of the people to information
‘on matters of public concern, and adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of
all its transactions involving public interest, subject to the procedures and limitations
provided by this Act. This right is indispensable to the exercise of the right of the people and
their organizations to effective and reasonable participation at all levels of social, political
and economic decision-making.

SEC. 3. Coverage. - This Act shall cover government agencies. Government agencies
refers to the executive, legislative and judicial branches as well as the constitutional bodies
of the Republic of the Philippines including, but not limited to, the national government and
all its agencies, departments, bureaus, offices and instrumentalities, constitutional
commissions and constitutionally mandated bodies, local governments and all their
agencies, regulatory agencies, chartered institutions, government-owned or -controlled
corporations, including wholly-owned or controlled subsidiaries, government financial
institutions, state universities and colleges, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the
Philippine National Police, all offices in the Congress of the Philippines including the offices


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of Senators and Representatives, the Supreme Court and all lower courts established by
law.

SEC. 4. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act:

(a) Information refers to data that have been processed into a record, document, paper,
report, letter, contract, minutes and transcripts of official meetings, maps, books,
photographs, data, research materials, in whatever form, or films, sound and video
recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data, in whatever format, which are made,
received or kept in or under the control and custody of any government agency pursuant to
law, executive order, rules and regulations, ordinance or in connection with the performance
or transaction of official business by any government agency.

(b) Official record refers to information produced or received by a public officer or
employee, or by a government agency in an official capacity or pursuant to a public function
or duty. This shall not refer to the stage or status of the information.

() Public record refers to information required by law, executive orders, rules, or
regulations to be entered, kept and made publicly available by a government agency.

(d) Dataset shall refer to an organized collection of data, which is presented in a variety of
forms such as but not limited to tabular, geospatial, or image data files.

() Machine-readable shall refer to formats that are able to have its data extracted and
processed by computer programs easily.

(f) Open format shall refer to one that is platform independent, machine readable, and made
available to the public without restrictions that would impede the re-use of that information.

SEC. 5. Access to Information. — Every person who is a Filipino citizen has a right to and
shall, on request, be given access to any record under the control of a government agency.
Government agencies and public officials shall have the duty to disclose and make available
for scrutiny, copying and reproduction in the manner provided by this Act, all information
pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions, as well as government research data
used as a basis for policy development, subject to the exceptions enumerated under Section
7 of this Act, regardless of their physical form or format in which they are contained and by

whom they were made.



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Nothing herein contained shall allow private acts, transactions or records of public officials

and private individuals to be the subject of mandatory disclosure under this Act: Provided,
however, That income tax returns, and statement of assets, liabilities and networth (SALN)
of public officials shall be released subject to existing laws, rules and regulations: Provided,
further, That the limitations and prohibitions to make available to the public the SALN shall
not apply when upon order of the Sandiganbayan, it has been established that there is
probable cause related to the commission of an offense.

SEC. 6. Presumption. - There shall be a legal presumption in favor of access to
information. The request for information may be denied only if it clearly falls under the
exceptions provided under this Act. Accordingly, government agencies shall have the burden
of proving that the information requested is exempted from disclosure.

SEC. 7. Exceptions. — Access to information shall be granted unless:

(a) The information is specifically authorized to be kept secret under guidelines established
by an executive order, and in fact properly classified pursuant thereto: Provided, That 1)
The information directly relates to national security or defense and its revelation may
cause grave damage to the national security or internal and external defense of the
State; or 2) The information requested pertains to the foreign affairs of the Republic of
the Philippines, when its revelation shall unduly weaken the negotiating position of the
government in an ongoing bilateral or multilateral negotiation or seriously jeopardize the
diplomatic relations of the Philippines with one or more states: Provided further, That the
‘executive order shall specify the reasonable period after which the information shall be
automatically declassified or subject to mandatory declassification review, and that any
reasonable doubt as to classification and declassification shall be settled in favor of the

right to information;

(b) The information consists of records of minutes and advice given and opinions expressed
during decision-making or policy formulation, invoked by the Chief Executive to be
privileged by reason of the impairment of the Chief Executive's deliberative process that
would result from the disclosure thereof. Once policy has been formulated and decisions
made, minutes and research data may be made available for disclosure unless they
were made in executive session;


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(c) The information requested pertains to internal and/or external defense, law enforcement,
and border control, when the disclosure thereof would:

(i) unduly compromise or interfere with any legitimate military or law
enforcement operation; or

(ii) unduly compromise or interfere with the prevention, detection or suppression
of criminal activity, the effective implementation of immigration controls and
border security; or

(ili) deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication; or

(iv) lead to the disclosure of the identity of a confidential source, including a
government, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which
furnished information on a confidential basis, and, in the case of a record or
information compiled by a law enforcement authority in the course of an
investigation or by an agency conducting a lawful national security
intelligence investigation, information furnished by a confidential source; or

(v) disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or
prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations
or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk
circumvention of the law; or

(vi) endanger the life or physical safety of any individual;

(d) The information requested consists of drafts of the following: orders, resolutions,
decisions, memoranda or audit reports by any executive, administrative, regulatory,
constitutional, judicial or quasi-judicial body in the exercise of their adjudicatory and/or
audit function;

(e) The information requested is obtained by any committee of either House of Congress in
executive session;

() The information requested pertains to personal information of a natural person, whether
from the public or the private sector, and its disclosure would constitute an unwarranted
invasion of his or her personal privacy. This may include signatures, addresses,
telephone numbers, identification numbers, family members, race or ethnicity, religion,
health, education, sexual orientation, and similar information, unless such information is
specifically required by law to be entered into an official record and made available to the


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public, or the person has consented in writing to the disclosure of the information. To the

extent required to prevent an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, an agency may
redact such information from a record made available to the public. However, the
justification for the deletion shall be explained fully in writing, and the extent of such
deletion shall be indicated on the portion of the record which is made available or
published;

(g) The information requested pertains to trade secrets and commercial or financial
information or intellectual property obtained from a natural or juridical person other than
the requesting party, whenever the revelation thereof would seriously prejudice the
interests of such natural or juridical person in trade, industrial, financial or commercial
competition;

(h) The information is classified as privileged communications in legal proceedings by law or
by the Rules of Court, unless the person entitled to the privilege has waived it;

(i) The information requested is exempted by law or the Constitution, in addition to those
provided in this section;

) The information is of a nature that its premature disclosure would, in the case of a
government agency that regulates or deals with currencies, interest rates, securities,
commodities, or financial institutions, likely lead to fraud, manipulation, or other unlawful
acts or schemes involving currencies, interest rates, securities, or the commodities
market or, in the case of other government agencies, likely frustrate the effective
implementation of a proposed official action: Provided, That the information shall be

accessible once the anticipated danger has ceased.
(k) The information has already been made accessible as provided for in Section 12.
For paragraphs (c) to (k) of this section, the determination whether any of these grounds
shall apply shall be the responsibility of the head of office of the government agency in
custody or contro! of the information, or any responsible central or field officer/s duly

designated by him.

‘SEC. 8. Qualifications.


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1. The exceptions in the preceding section shall be strictly construed;

2. The exceptions cannot be invoked to cover-up a crime, wrongdoing, graft, or corruption;
Whenever the information covered by an exception may be reasonably severed from a
record, the record shall be released with the exempt information redacted, or the
information not covered by the exception shall otherwise be communicated to the
requesting party;

4. The President, the Supreme Court, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the
Constitutional Commissions may waive an exception with respect to information in the
custody of offices under their respective supervision or control, when they deem that
there is an overriding public interest in disclosure; and

5. The exceptions do not constitute authority to withhold information from Congress, nor
authority for the executive branch of a local government unit to withhold information from
the legislative body of such local government unit.

SEC. 9. Mandatory Disclosure of Information. — (a) In fulfilment of Article XI, Section 17
of the Constitution the following national officials shall provide to the public, through the
websites of their respective offices, their Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net worth
(SALN) on an annual basis, subject to Section 5 and Section 7 (f) of this Act:

(1) the President;

(2) the Vice- President;

(3) the Members of the Cabinet;

(4) the Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives;

(6) the Justices of the Supreme Court;

(6) the Commissioners of the Constitutional Commissions and other constitutional
offices; and

(7) the officers of the Armed Forces with the rank of general or the equivalent flag
rank,

(b) All agencies of all branches of government shall publish on their websites and update on

a monthly basis, a register of the following:

(1) Freedom of Information Manual in full;

(2) Rules of Procedure, descriptions of forms available or the places at which forms
may be obtained, and instructions as to the scope and contents of all papers, reports,
or examinations;


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(3) Substantive rules of general applicability adopted as authorized by law, and
statements of general policy or interpretations of general applicability formulated and
adopted by the agency, including subsequent amendments;

(4) Public interest documents or records, including:

(i) Annual Budget of Government Agencies
(i) Itemized Monthly Collections and Disbursement

(iii) Summary of Income and Expenditures

(iv) Component of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) Utilization

(v) Annual Procurement Plan and Procurement List

(vi) Items for Bidding

(vii) Bid Results on Civil Works, and Goods and Services

(viii) Abstract of Bids as Calculated

(ix) Procurement contracts entered into by a government agency

(x) Construction or concession agreements or contracts entered into by a
government agency with any domestic or foreign person or entity;

(xi) Private sector participation agreements or contracts in infrastructure and
development projects under Republic Act No. 6957 otherwise known as the
Philippine BOT Law, as amended by Republic Act No. 7718;

(xii) Public funding extended to any private entity;

(xiii) Bilateral or multilateral agreements and treaties in trade, economic
partnership, investments, cooperation and similar binding commitments;

(xiv) List of persons or entities who were granted licenses, permits or
agreements for the extraction and/or utilization of natural resources given by
any government agency;

(xv) Statement of Assets and Liabilities of the public officers of the
government agency; and

(xvi) Guarantees given by any government agency to government-owned or -

controlled corporations and to private corporations, persons or entities.

The register shall contain a brief description of the transaction involved, including, but not
limited to: the nature and object of the transaction, the parties and amounts involved, the key
steps undertaken towards its conclusion, and the relevant dates provided that contracts and
agreements involving an amount of at least Fifty Million Pesos (P50,000,000.00) shall be
published in full on the website of the concerned government agency or the Official Gazette

Online subject to the succeeding section. A covered record shall be enrolled in the register


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not later than 30 working days from its perfection or issuance.

(c) All government agencies shall, over tinte, endeavor and build the capacity and practice to
publish in full all other contracts, agreements, or treaties covered under this Section,
specially those that are of the highest public interest by reason of the amounts involved and
the impact of the transaction to the public. All government agencies must ensure that they
have a compliant website within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Act.

(d) Should an agency lack the capacity to comply with the website publication requirement of
this Section, the agency shall initiate a capacity-building program, coordinate with another
appropriate agency, or use an alternative mechanism, to facilitate substantive compliance
not later than three (3) years from the effectivity of this Act.

SEC. 10. Promotion of Openness in Government. - (a) Duty to Publish Information —
Government agencies shall regularly publish, print and disseminate at no cost to the public
and in an accessible form, in conjunction with Republic Act 9485, or the Anti-Red Tape Act
of 2007, and through their website, timely, true, accurate and updated key information

including, but not limited to:

(1) A description of its mandate, structure, powers, functions, duties and decision-
making processes;

(2) A description of the frontline services it delivers and the procedure and length of
time by which they may be availed of

(3) The names of its key officials, their powers, functions and responsibilities, and
their profiles and curriculum vitae;

(4) Work programs, development plans, investment plans, projects, performance
targets and accomplishments, and budgets, revenue allotments and expenditures;

(6) Important rules and regulations, orders or decisions: Provided, That they be
Published within fifteen (15) calendar days from promulgation;

(6) Datasets generated in the implementation of agency mandates, programs,
activities, and projects such as statistics, figures, and geospatial data, among others;
(7) Current and important database and statistics that it generates;

(8) Bidding processes and requirements; and

(9) Mechanisms or procedures by which the public may participate in or otherwise
influence the formulation of policy or the exercise of its powers.

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transtate key information into major Filipino languages and present them in popular form and

means.

SEC. 11. Capacity-Building, Promotion of Best Practices, and Continuous Updating of
Appropriate Use of Information Technology. — All government agencies shall establish,
operate, and maintain a website with features that are compliant with all the provisions of
this Act within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Act.

Every government agency shall likewise ensure the provision of adequate training for its
officials and employees to improve awareness of the people's right to information on matters
of public concem and the provisions of this Act, and to keep updated as to best practices in
relation to information disclosure, records maintenance, and archiving.

The National Computer Center shall monitor all government agency websites and provide
appropriate support for their development and full compliance with the requirements of this
Act.

SEC, 12. Exemption from Compliance. — The government agency shall be excused from
complying with a subsequent identical or substantially similar request from the same
requesting party where it has previously complied with a request for information unless a
reasonable interval has lapsed between compliance with the previous request and the
making of the current request: Provided, That the government agency complies with Section
20 of this Act.

SEC. 13. Additional Protection of Privacy. — While providing for access to information in
public records, this Act also affords full protection of the right to privacy of individuals, as
follows:

{a) A government agency must ensure that personal information in its custody or
under its control is disclosed only as permitted under this Act;

(b) A government agency must protect personal information in its custody or under its
control by making reasonable security arrangements against such risks as unauthorized
access, collection, use, disclosure, or disposal;

(c) An employee, officer or director of a government agency who has access,
whether authorized or unauthorized, to personal information in the custody of the agency,
must not disclose that information except as authorized under this Act.


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SEC. 14. Administrative Liability. - The acts enumerated in this Section shall be
tantamount to gross neglect of duty and shall constitute grounds for administrative and
disciplinary sanction against any public official or employee who willfully and knowingly
commits the following:

(a) Refusal to promptly forward the request under Section 18 of this Act to the public
officer within the same office or agency responsible for officially acting on the request
when such is the direct cause of the failure to disclose the information within the

periods required by this Act;

(b) Failure to act on the request within the periods required by this Act;

(c) Claim an exception under Section 7 of this Act when the claim is manifestly
devoid of factual or legal basis;

(4) Refusal to comply with the decision of his immediate supervisor, the
Ombudsman, or of any court ordering the release of information;

(e) Approval of policies, rules and regulations manifestly contrary to the provisions of
this Act, and which policies, rules and regulations are the direct cause of the denial of
a request for information.

SEC. 15. Criminal Liability. — (a) The following acts shall be subject to the penalty of
imprisonment of not less than one (1) month but not more than six (6) months, with the

accessory penalty of dismissal from service:

(1) Falsely denying or concealing the existence of information mandated for
disclosure under this Act; and

(2) Destroying, or causing to be destroyed, information and/or documents
being requested under this Act, for the purpose of frustrating the requesting party's

access thereto.
(b) Any private individual who knowingly induced or caused the commission of the

foregoing acts shall be liable as principal by inducement in the prosecution of public

officials or employees under this section.

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(c) The acts under paragraph (a) of this Section, if proven in an administrative
proceeding, shall be subject to the penalty of dismissal, even if no criminal
prosecution is instituted against him.

SEC 16. Denial in Good Faith Not a Ground for Liability. - A denial in good faith of a
request for access to information made pursuant to the provisions of this Act shall not
constitute grounds for administrative or criminal liability.

SEC. 17. Freedom of Information (FO!) Manual. - (a) For the effective implementation of
this Act, all government agencies shall prepare a Freedom of Information (FO!) Manual,
setting forth the following:

(1) The location and contact information of the head, regional, provincial and field
offices of the agency, and other established places where the public can obtain
information or submit requests;

(2) The types of information it generates, produces, holds and/or publishes;

(3) A description of its record-keeping system;

(4) The person or office responsible for receiving requests for information;

(5) The procedure for the filing of requests personally, by mail, or through the
identified electronic means;

(6) The standard forms for the submission of request and for the proper
acknowledgement of the request;

(7) The process for the disposition of the request, including the routing of the request
to the person or office with the duty to act on the request and the decision-making
process for the grant or denial of the request;

(8) The procedure for the administrative appeal of any denial for access to
information;

(9) The schedule of service or processing fees pertinent to a request for information;
(10) The process and procedure for the mandatory disclosure of information under
Section 9 of this Act: Provided, That, should the agency lack the capacity to comply
with Section 9 of this Act, a brief description of its plan to facilitate compliance within
three (3) years from the approval of this Act; and

(11) Such other information, taking into consideration the unique characteristics of an
agency, that will help facilitate the effective implementation of this Act.

(b) The FO! Manual shall also be posted in the agency website and a hard copy shall be
available at the agency reception area for use by the public;

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(c) In no case shall the absence of the aforementioned FO! Manual be a reason for the
denial of any request for information made in accordance with this Act.

(d) The heads of each of the departments and agencies may designate liaison units or
Committees which shall coordinate with the other units of the agency in implementing this
‘Act. The composition, functions and duties of these liaison units or Committees shall be
included in the FO! Manual.

SEC. 18. Procedure of Access. - (a) Any person who wishes to obtain information shall
submit, free of charge, a request to the government agency concerned personally, by mail,
or through electronic means. A person who is unable, because of illiteracy or disability, to

.make a written request for information may make an oral request instead. The public officer

who receives the oral request shall reduce it to writing, indicating therein his or her name
and position within the government agency, and give a copy thereof to the person who made
the request. The request shall state the name and preferred contact information of the
requesting party, and reasonably describe the information required, the reason for the
request of the information and the preferred means by which the government agency shall
communicate such information to the requesting party: Provided, That the stated reason
shall not be used as a ground to deny the request or to refuse the acceptance of the request,
unless such request is contrary to law. If the request is submitted personally, the requesting
party shall show a current identification document issued by any government agency, or
government or private employer or school, or a community tax certificate. If the request is
submitted by mail or through electronic means, the requesting party may submit a
photostatic or electronically scanned copy of the identification, or other convenient means as
determined by the agency.

(b) The public official receiving the request shall provide reasonable assistance, free of
charge, to enable all requesting parties and particularly those with special needs, to comply
with the requirements under this Section.

(c) The request shall be duly received by the concerned government agency, which shall
forthwith indicate the date and time of receipt and the name, rank, title and position of the
receiving public officer or employee who shall likewise affix his or her signature thereon, and
shall furnish the requesting party a copy thereof. In case the request is submitted by
electronic means, the government agency shall provide for an equivalent means by which
the requirements of this paragraph shall be met. Each government agency shall establish a

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system by which the status of all requests for information received by it may be verified at
any time.

(d) The request may indicate the requesting party's preferred mode and means of receiving
the information requested, provided that the mode and means are reasonable, taking into
consideration equipment normally available to the concerned government agency.

(e) A government agency may communicate the information requested in a form other than
the preferred means whenever such preferred means would unreasonably interfere with the
effective operation of the agency, or if the agency has no capability in communicating the
information in the preferred format, or when the preferred format may be detrimental to the
preservation of the record.

(f) The government agency shall comply with such request as soon as practicable, and in
any case within fifteen (15) working days from the receipt thereof. The period may be
extended whenever the information requested requires a search of the government agency's
field or satellite offices, examination of voluminous records, the occurrence of fortuitous

events or other analogous cases.

(g) The government agency shall, in writing or through electronic means, notify the person
making the request of the extension, setting forth the reasons for such extension and the
date when the information shall be made available, which in no case shall result in an
extension of more than twenty (20) working days.

(h) Once a decision is made to grant the request, the person making the request shall be
notified of such and pay the required access and processing fees.

(i) Ifthe information is not held by the government agency from which the request was made,
it shall notify the requesting party that it does not hold the information and indicate which
agency holds the record, if known. Whenever practicable, the agency receiving the request
may also cause the transfer of the request to the appropriate agency that holds the
information: Provided, That the period to comply with the request under this Section shall
begin to run only upon the receipt of the agency to which the request is transferred.

SEC. 19. Access and Processing Fees. — Government agencies may charge a reasonable
fee to reimburse the actual cost of reproduction, copying or transcription and the

‘communication of the information requested. An agency may waive the fees whenever it is

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satisfied that the requester is an indigent, or that the cost of reproduction is negligible, or that
it is pursuant to a program for proactive disclosure.

SEC. 20. Notice of Denial. - If the government agency decides to deny the request, in
whole or in part, it shall, as soon as practicable, and in any case within fifteen (15) working
days from the receipt of the request, notify the person making the request of such denial in
writing or through electronic means. The notice shall indicate the name, rank, title or position
of the person making the denial, clearly set forth the ground or grounds for denial and the
circumstances on which the denial is based, and indicate available rights of reconsideration
or appeal. Failure to notify the person making the request of the denial, or of the extension,
shall be deemed a denial of the request for access to information.

SEC. 21. Remedies in Cases of Denial. - (a) In all government agencies other than the
judicial branch —

(1) A denial of a request for access to information may be appealed to the Head of Agency,
following the procedure required under Section 17 (a) (8) of this Act: Provided, That the
appeal must be filed within fifteen (15) calendar days from the receipt of the notice of denial
and must be decided within fifteen (15) calendar days from filing. Failure to resolve the
appeal within the aforementioned period shall constitute a denial of the appeal.

(2) A person denied access to information may file a verified complaint with the Office of the
Ombudsman, praying that the government agency concemed be directed to immediately
afford access to the information being requested. The Office of the Ombudsman shall
promulgate its special rules of procedure for the immediate disposition of complaints filed
pursuant to this Section. Unless restrained or enjoined, the decisions of the Office of the
Ombudsman shall be immediately executory, without prejudice to review in accordance with
the Rules of Court.

(3) A party whose request for information has been denied, whether or not such decision has
been appealed to the Head of the Agency, may file a verified petition for mandamus in the
proper court, alleging the facts with certainty and praying that judgment be rendered ordering
the respondent, immediately or at some other time to be specified by the court, to disclose
the information and to pay the damages sustained by the requesting party by reason of the
denial. The procedure for such petition shall be summary in nature.

In resolving a complaint or petition brought under paragraphs (2) and (3) hereof, the

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Ombudsman or the court is empowered to receive the information subject of a claim of
exception under Section 7 herein and examine them in camera to determine the sufficiency
of the factual and legal basis of such claim, when such sufficiency cannot be reasonably

determined through evidence and circumstances apart from the information

(b) In the Judicial Branch - The Judiciary shall be governed by such remedies as

promulgated by the Supreme Court.

The remedies under this section shall be sought or granted without prejudice to any other
administrative, civil or criminal action covering the same act.

The remedies available under this Act shall be exempt from the rules on non-exhaustion of
administrative remedies and the application of the provisions of Republic Act No. 9285,
otherwise known as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004.

In case the requesting party has limited or no financial capacity, the Public Attorney's Office
shall be mandated to provide legal assistance to the requesting party in availing of the

remedies provided under this Act.

SEC. 22. Keeping of Records. - (a) Government agencies shall create and maintain in
appropriate formats, accurate and reasonably complete documentation or records of their
organization, policies, transactions, decisions, resolutions, enactments, actions, procedures,
operations, activities, communications and documents received or filed with them and the
data generated or collected. These shall include working files such as drafts or notes,
whenever these have been circulated within the agency for official purpose such as for
discussion, comment or approval or when these contain unique information that can
substantially contribute to a proper understanding of the agency organization, policies,
transactions, decisions, resolutions, enactments, actions, procedures, operations, and
activities;

(b) Government agencies, in coordination with the National Archives of the Philippines, shall
identify specific and classes of official records in their custody or control that have continuing
historical, administrative, informational, legal, evidentiary, or research value for preservation
by such agencies or their legitimate successors, or for transfer to the National Archives of
the Philippines.

(c) In addition to the specific and classes of official records identified for preservation under

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letter (b) of this section, the following shall not be destroyed:

(1) Records pertaining to loans obtained or guaranteed by the government;

(2) Records of government contracts involving amounts Fifty Million or more, or
related to infrastructure, public and private partnerships, utilities, or other important
projects;

(3) The original declaration under oath of the assets, liabilities and net worth of public
officers and employees submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman, as required by
law, and

(4) Records of official investigations pertaining to allegations of graft and corruption
of public officers.

(4) Government agencies shall prepare, following standards and period promulgated
pursuant to Republic Act No. 9470 or the National Archives of the Philippines Act of 2007, a
records management program that includes the following:

(1) A records maintenance system for the creation, selection, classification, indexing
and filing of official records that facilitate the easy identification, retrieval and
communication of information to the public;

2) A records maintenance, archival and disposition schedule providing a listing of
records under current use for retention by the agency, for transfer to the National
Archives, or for destruction: Provided, That destruction of the official records may be
implemented only upon approval of the National Archives of the Philippines; and

(3) Identification of the specific roles and responsibilities of agency personnel in the
implementation of such system and schedule.

(e) In addition to its function as repository of all rules and regulations issued by agencies as
provided under Book VII, Chapter 1! of the Administrative Code of 1987, the University of the
Philippines Law Center shall, in coordination with the Office of the President which has
exclusive editorial and printing jurisdiction over the Official Gazette, and with other relevant
agencies, maintain a database, and publish in the Official Gazette or in digital or online form,
the following:

(1) All laws of the Philippines and their amendments, from the period of the Philippine
Commission to the present;

(2) All presidential issuances from November 15, 1935 to the present, including but
not limited, to executive orders, presidential proclamations, administrative orders,

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1 memorandum circulars, general orders, and other similar issuances;
2 (3) A database of all appointments and designations made by the President of the
3 Philippines; and

4 (4) Opinions of the Secretary of Justice.

5 SEC 23. Publication in the Official Gazette. - For purposes of mandatory disclosure as

provided in Section 9 of this Act, online publication in the Official Gazette website shall be
7 considered official publication provided there shall be a timestamp in the said document.

For purposes of compliance with Article 2 of the Civil Code of the Philippines, publication of
the following in the online version of the Official Gazette, with the corresponding timestamps
10 onthe document, shall be considered as official publication:

ul (a) All important legislative acts and resolutions of a public nature of the Congress of the
12 Philippines;

3 (b) All executive and administrative orders and proclamations of general application;

14 (c) Decisions or abstracts of decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals or
15 other courts of similar rank, as may be deemed by said courts of sufficient
16 importance to be so published;

17 (d) Such documents or classes of documents as the President shall determine from time
18 to time to have general application or which he may authorize to be published.

19 However, other documents or classes of documents as may be required to be published by
20 law, such as petitions and/or legal notices in connection with land titles, naturalization or
21 special proceedings shall continue to be published in the print version of the Official Gazette
22 or in any newspaper of general circulation for purposes of compliance with the publication
23 requirement.

24 SEC 24. Act Not a Bar to Claim of Right to Information Under the Constitution. - No
25 provision of this Act shall be interpreted as a bar to any claim of denial of the right to
26 information under Article III, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution.

27 SEC. 25. Publication of Government Data in the Open Data Philippines Website. - For
28 the purpose of enhancing the public's access to government information and abiding by the

29 Philippines’ international commitments to transparency and government openness, all
30 government agencies shall publish in the Open Data Philippines website datasets generated

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in the implementation of agency mandates, programs, activities, and projects. These
datasets shall be updated, whenever permissible, at least once every quarter of the year.

The Open Data website shall be maintained and administered by an Open Data Task Force
under the Office of the President, or any such similar body designated by the President for
this purpose.

For the purpose of making government data more accessible to the public, all datasets
published on the Open Data Philippines website and on LGU websites as mandated in
Section 9 of this Act shall be, whenever practicable, of a machine-readable and open format.

SEC. 26. Tracking Requests for Information. - Websites of government agencies shall
contain a matrix of requests made, their status, and the decision regarding the request. The
matrix shall also contain links to uploaded information from approved requests. In such
cases where requests are denied, the matrix shall contain the reasons for denial and the
status of the appeal if such is done.

SEC. 27. Release to One, Release to All. - For purposes of streamlining requests for
information, once a information has been made available to an individual through a request
for information, the said dataset shall also be published in an appropriate website such as,
but not limited to, the Open Data Philippines website, Official Gazette website, Departmental
website, or Local Government website thus allowing the public access to all information that

has been requested.

SEC 28. Integration of Freedom of Information (FO!) and Good Governance In
Elementary and Secondary Curriculum. - To ensure well-informed generations of
citizens, the right to information, the principles of accountability and transparency,
democracy and leadership, and good governance shall be integrated in such subjects as
Heyograpiya, Kasaysayan at Sibika (HEKASI) and Araling Panlipunan in the elementary
level and in such subjects as Social Studies and Makabayan or its equivalent subjects in
high school level. The Department of Education in coordination with the Civil Service
Commission and other relevant offices shall prepare the necessary modules and teaching
programs consistent with the objectives of this Act.

SEC 29. Annual Reports on Actions Taken on Requests for Access to Information. -
All government agencies shall prepare, for each fiscal year, a report on the number of

requests for information it received, processed, granted and denied; of appeals made from

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denials of such requests; and of pending court actions it is a party to as result of such
requests. These reports may be integrated in the main annual reports of government
agencies and may be posted and published in their respective websites.

‘SEC. 30. Appropriations. - The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act
shall be charged against the agencies’ current budget and shall thereafter be included in the
annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC 31. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional, the
remainder of this Act or any provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full force and
effect.

SEC 32. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations,
issuances or any part thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, including Sections
18, 24 and 25, Book |, of Executive Order No. 292 or the Administrative Code of 1987 in
relation to Article 2 of Republic Act No. 386 or the Civil Code, Memorandum Circular No. 78
dated 14 August 1964 (Promulgating Rules Governing Security of Classified Matter in
Government Offices), as amended, and Section 3, Rule IV of the Rules Implementing
Republic Act No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and
Employees), are deemed repealed: Provided, That Memorandum Circular No. 78 shall be
deemed repealed after one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act or upon issuance of the
Executive Order in Section 7(a), whichever comes first.

SEC 33. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,