FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
Second Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
S.NO. 3210 
I 
Introduced by Senator Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes 1V 
Explanatory Note 
Section 24 of Article I1 under the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that the State recognizes 
the vital role of communication and information in nation-building. Section 28 of the same 
articulates that subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law, the State adopts and 
implements a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest. 
Moreover, Section 7 of Article 111 under the same inandates that the right of the people to 
information on matters of public concern shall be recognized and that access to official records 
and to documents ana papers pertaining IO ofiiciai acrs, transactions, or decisions, as weii as IO 
government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, 
subject to such limitations as may be provided by law. 
However, wniie the puoiic’s rignt to information is iirmiy enskined in tine Constitution ana 
affirmed by the Supreme Court, access to public records largely remains limited. The state 
agencies’ unwillingness to share documents, particularly on documents pertaining to official 
development assistance (ODA) projects highlight the government’s snail-paced progress toward 
transparency, and full compliance with tl le Constitution’s provision on access to information. 
This best described the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCLT) experiences, which, 
have been repeatedly denied of what is supposed to he public documents such as the NBN-ZTE 
aeai ana assevs ana iiabiiities of fie Supreme Court justices. 
Thus, this bill seeks to allow the Filipino citizens the opportunity to review records and actions 
of its government. This shall enhance the free flow of information and the formation of a 
rigorous and enlightened public opinion. This proposed measure shall also include provisions 
that will penalize failure to disclose information within a given period of which, penalties range 
from damages, suspension and imprisonment. 
Tn view nf the fnrpzning, thp p ~ ~ a z e  
nf thi? hill i c  pgmetly cnllzht 
Senator 
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OFFOCE OF f: 
$E :jECRtf$AWy’ 
FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUI3LIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
Second Regular Session 
1 
M M  -6 
Ale 20 
SENATE 
Introduced by Senator Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV 
I 
A% ACT 
IMPLEMENTING THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION ON MATTERS OF 
PUBLIC CONCERN GUARANTEED UNDER SECTION TWENTY-EIGHT, ARTICLE 
11 AND SECTION SEVEN, ARTICLE III OF THE 1987 CONSTITUTION AND FOR 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Phil@pines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Freedom of Information Act of 
2009”. 
SEC. 2. Declaration of PoZicy. - 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 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 
decisionmaking. 
SEC. 3. Covernge. - This Act shall cover all government agencies as defined in Section 4 
of this Act. 
SEC. 4. Definition of Terms. -As used in this Act: 
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(a) “Information” shall mean any knowledge, record, document, paper, report, letters, contract, 
minutes and transcripts of official meetings, maps, books, photographs, data, research material, 
film, sound and video recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data processing records, 
computer stored data, or any other like or similar data or material recorded, stored or archived in 
whatever form or 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) “Government agency” shall include 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, 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 of Senators and Representatives, the Supreme Court and all lower courts 
established by law. 
(c) “Official records” shall refer to information produced or received by the public officer or 
employee, or by a government agency in an official capacity or pursuant to a public function 
or duty, and is not meant to be a stage or status of the information. 
(d) “Public records” shall include information required by law to be entered, kept and made 
publicly available by a government agency such as, but not limited to, the: 
(1) Office of the Civil Registry; 
(2) National Statistics Office; 
(3) Register of Deeds; 
(4) Land Transportation Office; 
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(5) Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board; 
(6) Securities and Exchange Commission; 
(7) Intellectual Property Office; or 
(8) Business Permits and Licenses Office and Assessor’s Office of the various local government 
units. 
SEC. 5. Presumption. - There shall be a legal presumption in favor of access to 
information. Accordingly, government agencies shall have the burden of proof of showing by 
clear and convincing evidence that the information requested should not be disclosed. 
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SEC. 6. Access to Information. - Government agencies shall make available to the 
public 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 
basis for policy development, regardless of their physical form or format in which they are 
contained and by whom they were made. 
SEC. 7. Qualifictions. - Even if the information falls under the exceptions set forth in 
the succeeding section, access to information shall not be denied iE 
(a) The information may be reasonably severed from the body of the information which would 
be subject to the exceptions; or 
(b) The public interest in the disclosure outweighs the harm to the interest sought to be protected 
by the exceptions. 
SEC. 8. Exceptions. - Subject to the qualifications set forth in Section 7: Provided, That 
the information is specifically designated and described, and the facts and reasons for preserving 
the confidentiality are precisely and specifically recited, and Provided, firtho: That such 
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information shall be available to either House of Congress at all times, access to information may 
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be denied when: 
(a) The revelation of the information will create a clear and present danger of war, invasion or 
any external threat to the State as determined by the Office of the President andior the Secretary 
of the Department of National Defense: Provided That the Supreme Court may, upon complaint 
by any citizen, inquire into the sufficiency of the factual basis for such determination; 
(b) The information pertains to the foreign affairs of the Republic of the Philippines, when its 
revelation would unduly weaken the negotiating position of the government in an ongoing 
bilateral or inultilateral negotiation or seriously jeopardize the diplomatic relations of the 
Philippines with one or more states with which it intends to keep friendly relations, except that 
such information must always be accessible to either House of Congress; 
(c) The information pertains to internal and external defense and law enforcement, when the 
revelation thereof would render a legitimate military operation ineffective, unduly compromise 
the prevention, detection or suppression of a criminal activity, or endanger the life or physical 
safety of confidential or protected sources or witnesses, law enforcement and military personnel 
or their immediate families. Information relating to the details of the administration, budget and 
expenditure, and management of the defense and law enforcement agencies shall always be 
accessible to the public; 
(d) The information pertains to the personal information of a third party natural person, unless it 
forms part of a public record, or the third party is or was an official of a government agency and 
the infomation relates to his or her public function; 
(e) The infomation pertains to trade, industrial, financial or coinmercial secrets of a third party 
natural or juridical person, obtained in confidence by a government agency whenever the 
revelation thereof would seriously prejudice the interests of the third party in trade, industrial, 
financial or commercial competition, unless the third party has consented to the disclosure of the 
information; 
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(f) The information is privileged from production in legal proceedings by law or by the Rules of 
Court, unless the person entitled to the privilege has waived it; 
(g) The information is exempted by statutes of Congress, in addition to those provided in this 
section; 
(h) The information is obtained by any committee of either House of Congress in executive 
session; and 
(i) Drafts of decisions of any executive, administrative, judicial or quasi-ju&cial body in the 
exercise of their adjudicatory functions are being requested. 
SEC. 9. Procedure ofAccess. - (a) Any person who wishes to obtain information shall 
submit a request to the government agency concerned, as much as practicable in writing or 
through electronic means, reasonably describing the information required, the reason for the 
request of the information and the means by which the government agency shall communicate 
such information to the requesting party. 
(b) The request shall be stamped by the government agency, inchcating the date and time of 
receipt and the name, rank, title and position of the receiving public officer or empIoyee with the 
corresponding signature, and a copy thereof furnished to the requesting party. 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. 
(c) The request may indicate the following preferred means of communication: 
(1) A true copy of the information in permanent or other form; 
(2) An opportunity to inspect the information, using equipment normally available to the 
government agency when necessary; 
(3) An opportunity to copy the information using personal equipment; 
(4) A written transcript of the information contained in a sound or visual form; 
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(5) A transcript of the content of an infomation, in print, sound or visual form, where such 
transcript is capable of being produced using equipment normally available to the 
government agency; or 
(6) A transcript of the information from shorthand or codified form. 
(d) A government agency may communicate information in a form other than the preferred 
means whenever such preferred means would unreasonably interfere with the effective operation 
of the agency, or be detrimental to the preservation of the record. 
(e) The government agency shall comply with such request within ten (10) calendar days from 
the receipt thereof 
(f) The time limits prescribed in this section may be extended during unusual circumstances 
where, in the production of the requested information, there is a need 
(1) To search for and collect the requested information from field facilities or other 
establishments that are separate from the office processing the request; 
(2) To search for, collect and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and 
distinct information which are demanded in a single request; 
(3) For consultation, which shall be conducted in all practicable speed, with another 
government agency or among two (2) or more components of the government agency having 
substantial interest in the determination of the request; and 
(4) To consider fortuitous events or other events due to force majeure 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: Provided, That no such notice shall specify a date 
that would result in an extension of more than fifteen (15) calendar days. 
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SEC. 10. Access Fees. - Government agencies may charge a reasonable fee to reimburse 
the cost of searching, reproduction, copying or transcription and the communication of the 
information requested. 
SEC. 11. Notice of Denial. - If the government agency decides to deny the request, in 
whole or in part, it shall, within ten (10) calendar days from the receipt of the request, notify the 
person. The notice shall clearly indicate the name, rank, title or position of the person making the 
request of such denial in writing or through electronic means making the denial, and the grounds 
for the denial. In case the denial is by reason of a claimed exception, the denial shall also state 
clearly the legitimate aim or interest sought to be protected in the confidentiality, and the facts 
and circumstances invoked showing the substantial harm to, or frustration of, the legitimate aim 
or interest that will result in the disclosure of the information. 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 infomation. 
SEC. 12. Remedies in Cases of Denial. - (a) In the executive and legislative branches 
and the constitutional bodies - 
(1) Every denial of any request for access to information may be appealed to the person or office 
next higher in authority, following the procedure provided in the guidelines as required by 
Section 17 of this Act: Provided, That the appeal must be filed within fifteen (15) calendar days 
from the notice of denial and must be decided within fifteen (15) calendar days from filing. 
Failure of the government agency to decide within the aforestated period shall constitute a denial 
of the appeal; and 
(2) Instead of appealing or after the denial of the appeal, the person denied access to information 
may, within fifteen (15) calendar days from the original denial or denial of the appeal, file a 
verified complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman, praying that the government agency 
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concerned be directed to immediately afford access to the information being requested. Such 
complaint shall be resolved by the Office of the Ombudsman within sixty (60) calendar days 
from filing or earlier, when time is of the essence, taking into account such factors as the name 
of the information requested, context of the request, public interest and danger that the 
information requested will become moot. 
(b) In the Judicial Branch - The Supreme Court shall promulgate the remeQes that would govern 
offices under its jurisdiction. 
(c) The remedies under this section are without prejudice to any other administrative, civil or 
criminal action covering the same act. 
(d) 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. 
(e) The Office of the Ombudsman shall promulgate its rules of procedure to effect the purposes 
of this Act. 
(f) 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. 
(g) In case the requester has limited or no financial capacity, the Public Attorney’s Office shall 
he mandated to provide legal assistance to the requester in availing of the remedies provided 
under this Act 
SEC. 13. Mandatory Disclosure of Transactions Involving Public Interest. - Subject to 
Sections 7 and 8 of this Act, all government agencies shall post on their bulletin boards and 
upload on their wehsites all the steps, negotiations and key government positions pertaining to 
definite propositions of the government, as well as the contents of the contract, agreement or 
treaty in the following transactions involving public interest: 
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(a) Compromise agreements entered into by a government agency with any person or entity 
involving any waiver or its rights or claims; 
(b) Private sector participation agreements or contracts in infrastructure and development 
projects under Republic Act No. 6957, as amended by Republic Act No. 7718, authorizing the 
financing, construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure projects; 
(c) Procurement contracts entered into by a government agency; 
(d) Construction or concession agreements or contracts entered into by a government agency 
with any domestic or foreign person or entity; 
(e) Loans, grants, development assistance, technical assistance and programs entered into by a 
government agency with official bilateral or multilateral agencies, as well as with private aid 
agencies or institutions; 
(f) Loans from domestic and foreign financial institutions; 
(6) Guarantees given by any government agency to government-owned or -controlled 
corporations and to private corporations, persons or entities; 
(h) Public funding extended to any private entity; 
(i) Bilateral or multilateral agreements and treaties in defense, trade, economic partnership, 
investments, cooperation and similar binding commitments; or 
0) Licenses, permits or agreements given by any government agency to any person or entity for 
the extraction andor utilization of natural resources. 
SEC. 14. Promotion of Openness in Government. - (a) Duty to Publish Information - 
Government agencies shall regularly publish and disseminate, at no cost to the public and in an 
accessible form, by print and through their website, timely, true, accurate and updated key 
information including, but not limited to: 
(1) A description of its structure, powers, functions, duties and decision-making processes; 
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(2) A description of the frontline services it delivers and the procedure and length of time by 
which they may be availed of; 
(3) Work programs, development plans, investment plans, projects, performance targets and 
accomplishments, and budgets, revenue allotments and expenditures; 
(4) Important rules and regulations, orders or decisions; 
( 5 )  Current and important database and statistics that it generates; 
(6) Bidding processes and requirements; 
(7) Mechanisms or procedures by which the public may participate in or otherwise influence the 
formulation of policy or the exercise of its powers; and 
(8) A guide on accessing information containing adequate information about its record-keeping 
system, the types of information it holds and/or publishes, the procedure for obtaining access by 
the public to such information, the person or office responsible for receiving the request and 
routing it to the person or office with the duty to act on the request, the standard forms and 
procedure for request, and the schedule of access fees. 
(b) Keeping of Records - Government agencies shall maintain and preserve their records in a 
manner that facilitates easy identification, retrieval and communication to the public. They shall 
establish Management Information Systems (MIS) to strengthen their capability to store, manage 
and retrieve records, and to facilitate access to public records. The following shall not be 
destroyed: 
(1) Records pertaining to loans obtained or guaranteed by the government; 
(2) Records of government contracts; 
(3) The declaration under oath of the assets, liabilities and net worth of public officers and 
employees, as required by law; 
(4) Records of official investigations on graft and corrupt practices of public officers; and 
(5) Other records where there is a significant public interest in their preservation or where there 
is likely to be such interest in the future. 
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(c) Accessibility of Language and Form - Every government agency shall endeavor to translate 
key information into major Filipino languages and present them in popular form and means. 
(d) Improving Capability - Every government agency shall ensure the provision of adequate 
training for its officials to improve awareness of the right to information and the provisions of 
this Act, and to keep updated of best practices in relation to information disclosure, records 
maintenance and archiving. 
SEC. 15. Criminal Liability. - The penalty of imprisonment of not less than six (6) 
months but not more than one (1) year, with the accessory penalty of suspension from office for 
the same duration, shall be imposed upon: 
(a) Any public officer or employee receiving the request under Section 9 of ths Act who shall 
knowingly refuse or, because of gross negligence, fails to promptly forward the request to the 
public officer 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) Any public officer or employee responsible for officially acting on the request, who shall: 
(1) Knowingly refuse or, because of gross negligence, fail to act on the request within the 
periods required by this Act; 
(2) Knowingly deny the existence of existing information; 
(3) Deliberately destroy information being requested for the purpose of frustrating the 
requester’s access thereto; 
(4) Claim an exception under Section 8 of this Act, when the claim is manifestly devoid of 
factual basis; or 
(5) Refuse to comply with the decision of his immediate supervisor, the Ombudsman or the 
court ordering the release of information that is not restrained or enjoined by a court; 
(c) The head of office of the government agency directly and principally responsible for the 
negotiation and perfection of any of the transactions enumerated in Section 13 of this Act, who 
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shall knowingly refuse or, because of negligence, fails to direct the mandatory posting or 
uploading of such transaction. The same penalty shall be imposed upon the public officer or 
employee who, despite a directive from the head of office, shall knowingly refuse or, because of 
negligence, fails to post or upload any of the transactions enumerated in Section 14 of this Act; 
(d) Any public officer or employee who shall destroy, or cause to destroy, records of information 
covered by Section 14(b) of this Act; 
(e) Any public officer who intentionally formulates 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; or 
(Q Any public or private individual who knowingly induced or caused the commission of the 
foregoing acts under this section. 
SEC. 16. Strict Civil Liabiliw. '- In case a request for information is denied and 
subsequently reversed by final and executory judgment of the Ombudsman or the courts, the 
government agency shall be liable to pay the requester damages in the amount of One thousand 
pesos (P1,OOO.OO) per day from the date of notice of denial until the date of compliance with the 
request, which amount shall be automatically appropriated. The public officer or employee and 
the private individual responsible for the denial shall be solidarily liable with the government 
agency, unless he can prove that such denial was made without fault or negligence, or was not 
done arbitrarily or in manifest bad faith. The liability under this section shall be without 
prejudice to actual, moral and exemplary damages that may be adjudicated under the law. 
SEC. 17. Guidelines. - (a) For the full implementation of this Act within the executive 
branch of the government, the Office of the Press Secretary, particularly the Philippine 
Information Agency, shall, through a consultative process, promulgate within six (6) months 
from the passage of this Act, the general guidelines to which the government agencies controlled, 


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supervised or situated under the Office of the President, and shall adhere in the establishment of 
their specific guidelines for access to inforniation, which shall include: 
(1) The location of the head, regional, provincial or field offices, or other established places 
where the public can obtain information or submit requests therefor; 
(2) The types of information it holds and/or publishes; 
(3) The person or office responsible for receiving the request and for routing it to the person or 
office with the duty to act on the request, and the standard forms and procedures for the request; 
(4) The procedure for the administrative appeal of any denial for access to information; and 
(5) The schedule of fees which shall be limited to the reasonable and standard charges for 
document search and reproduction, and the recovery of the direct costs thereof. 
Each of the abovementioned government agency, office and instrumentality shall submit 
to the Philippine Information Agency a copy of its guidelines for review to ensure the 
standardization of the procedure and the uniformity of fees, without prejudice to the right of the 
different agencies, offices and instrumentalities to adopt appropriate procedures for their unique 
functions and responsibilities. 
(b) The legislative and judicial branches and the constitutional bodies shall promulgate their own 
guidelines that would govern offices under their respective jurisdictions. The Secretary of the 
Senate, the House of Representatives’ Secretary General, the head of the Supreme Court Public 
Information Office and the public information officers of the constitutional bodies shall be 
responsible in furnishing copies of their respective guidelines to the Philippine Information 
Agency. 
(c) The Office of the Ombudsman shall likewise promulgate its special rules of procedure for the 
immediate disposition of complaints filed pursuant to Section 12 of this Act. 
In no case shall the absence of the aforementioned guidelines be a reason for the denial of 
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any request for information inade in accordance with this Act. 
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SEC. 18. Act Not a Bar to Claim of Right to Informtion Under the Constitution. - No 
provision of this Act shall be interpreted as a bar to any claim of denial of the right to 
information under Article 111, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution. 
SEC. 19. Separability Clause -If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is 
held unconstitutional or invalid, no other section or provision shall be affected. 
SEC. 20. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations, 
issuances or any part thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, including 
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. 
SEC. 21. E’ectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in 
at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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