Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No,_ 3237

Introduced by REP. MARIA LEONOR G. ROBREDO and
REP. HENEDINA R. ABAD

EXPLANATORY NOTE

One of the keys to a government's success in governance rests upon its efforts in being
transparent and involved with its citizenry. Some of these efforts include promptly
releasing its transactions and policies for the public to peruse and utilizing technology
to further its endeavors for the people.

This is what we seek to achieve: For Filipinos to trust their government. And one of the
ways is for government to be transparent in its dealings; either in fiscal transactions or
in policies, government should be open to provide the public with information that will
allow them to participate and contribute in governance.

The proposed bill will enable government to serve this purpose. It will lay the
groundwork for producing information for public consumption. It will allow our people
to gain access to data from official acts and decisions to government fiscal transactions
without sacrificing government's legitimate rights to protect certain types information.
such as those affecting national security.

Even in the 15" Congress, several measures were filed in the Senate and the House of
Representatives. Unfortunately, a law regarding freedom of information did not come
into fruition. New hope is bestowed on us, the 16 Congress, and this bill is being filed
as a response thereto.

This measure will augment our people’s efforts is creating a more transparent and
accountable government. It will empower our citizenry and it is in their empowerment
that governance toward a progressive society can be achieved.

On this note, the immediate passage of this bill is sincerely sought.

MARIA LEONOR G. ROBREDO
Third District, Camarines Sur



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
‘Quezon City, Metro Manila

Sixteenth Congress
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 3237

Introduced by REP. MARIA LEONOR G. ROBREDO and
REP. HENEDINA ABAD

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 Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Freedom of Information
Act of 2013.”

SECTION 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
tion at all levels of social, political and economic decision-making.

SECTION. 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act:

(a) “Information” shall mean any 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,
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.

() “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,

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

(©) “Official records” shall refer 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.

(d) “Public records” shall include information required by law, executive orders,
rules, or regulations to be entered, kept and made publicly available by a government
agency.

SECTION. 4. Access fo 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 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 a basis for policy development, subject to the
exceptions enumerated under section 6 of this Act, regardless of their physical form or
format in which they are contained and by whom they were made.

SECTION. 5. 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.

SECTION. 6. 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 intemal 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/may
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 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 sensitivity of the subject matter or 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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(©) The information requested pertains to internal and/or external defense, law
enforcement, and border control, when the disclosure thereof would:

(@ unduly compromise or interfere with any legitimate military or law
‘enforcement operation, or

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

(iiijdeprive 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

(¥) 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 orders, resolutions, decisions,
memoranda or audit reports by any executive, administrative, regulatory,
constitutional, judicial or quasi-judicial body in the exercise of their regulatory,
audit and adjudicatory function.

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

(f) The information requested pertains to the personal information of a natural person
other than the requesting party, and its disclosure would clearly constitute an
unwarranted invasion of his or her personal privacy, unless it forms part of a
public record, or the person is or was an official of a government agency and the
information relates to his or her public function or the person has consented in
writing to the disclosure of the information;

(g) The information requested pertains to trade secrets and commercial or financial
information obtained from a natural or juridical person other than the requesting,
party, obtained in confidence or covered by privileged communication, and/or
filed with a government agency, whenever the revelation thereof would seriously
prejudice the interests of such natural or juridical person in trade, industrial,
financial or commercial competition.

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(h) The information is classified as privileged communications in legal proceedings
by law or by the Rules of Court.

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

(j) The information has already been made accessible as provided for in Section 10.

For letters (c) to (j) 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 control of the information, or any responsible central or field officer/s
duly designated by him.

Provided, that:

1. The exceptions are strictly construed;

2. The exceptions are not used to cover-up a crime, wrongdoing, graft, or corruption;

3. 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

4. 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.

SECTION. 7. Mandatory Disclosure of Information. — (a) In fulfillment of Article
11, Section 17 of the Constitution the following national officials shall provide to the
public their Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net worth (SALN) on an annual
basis on their official website:

(1) the President,

(2) the Vice- President,

(3) the Members of the Cabinet,

(4) the Congress,

(5) the Supreme Court,

(6) the Constitutional Commissions and other constitutional offices,

(7) and officers of the armed forces with general or flag rank.
(b) All agencies of all branches of government shall upload on their websites, which
shall be updated monthly, a register of the following:

(i) Freedom of Information Manual in full;

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(ji) 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;

(ii) 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;

(iv) Public interest documents or records, including:
(1) Annual Budget of Government Agencies
(2) Itemized Monthly Collections and Disbursement
(3) Summary of Income and Expenditures
(4) Component of the IRA Utilization
(5) Annual Procurement Plan and Procurement List
(6) Items to Bid
(7) Bid Results on Civil Works, and Goods and Services
(8) Abstract of Bids as Calculated
(9) Procurement contracts entered into by a government agency
(10) Construction or concession agreements or contracts entered
into by a government agency with any domestic or foreign person or
entity;
(11) 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;
(12) Public funding extended to any private entity;
(13) Bilateral or multilateral agreements and treaties in trade,

economic partnership, investments, cooperation and similar binding
commitments;

(14) 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.

(15) _ Statement of Assets and Liabilities of the public officers of the
government agency.

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(16) 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 (PS0,000,000.00) shall be uploaded 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 not later than 30 working days from
its perfection or issuance.

(©) All government agencies shall over time endeavor and build the capacity and
practice to upload 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 uploading
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.

SECTION. 8. Promotion of Openness in Government. ~ (a) Duty to Publish
Information — Government agencies shall regularly publish, print and disseminate at
‘no cost fo 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;

(5) Important rules and regulations, orders or decisions: Provided, that they be
published within fifteen (15) calendar days from promulgation;

(6 Current and important database and statistics that it generates;

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(7) Bidding processes and requirements; and

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

(©) 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.

(©) 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 as to best practices in relation to
information disclosure, records maintenance and archiving.

SECTION. 9. Coverage. — This Act shall cover all government agencies as defined
under section 3 of this Act.

SECTION. 10. Exemption From Compliance. ~The government agency is 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 18 of this Act.

SECTION. 11. 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;

(©) 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.

SECTION. 12. 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 16 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;

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

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

(4) 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.

SECTION. 13. Criminal Liability. — (a) Any public official or employee who falsely
denies or conceals the existence of information mandated for disclosure under this Act
shall be liable for the crime of removal, concealment or destruction of documents as
defined under Article 226 of the Revised Penal Code.

(b) Any public official or employee who destroys, or causes to be destroyed,
information and/or documents being requested under this Act, for the purpose of
frustrating the requesting party's access thereto, shall be liable for the crime of
removal, concealment or destruction of documents as defined under Article 226 of the
Revised Penal Code.

(©) 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.

SECTION 14. Mere Denial Not a Ground for Liability. - A mere denial in good

faith of a request made pursuant to the provisions of this Act shall not constitute
grounds for administrative sanction or criminal liability.

SECTION. 15. Implementation Requirements. - (a) For the effective
implementation of this Act, all government agencies shall prepare a Freedom of
Information Manual, setting forth the following:

(1) The location and contact information of the head, regional, provincial and

field offices, 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;

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(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, the decision-
making process, and the grant or denial of access and its implementation;

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

(9) The schedule of fees;

(10) The process and procedure for the mandatory disclosure of information
under Section 7 of this Act; provided that, should the agency lack the capacity
to comply with Section 7 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 foregoing information shall also be posted in its website and bulletin boards,
and shall be regularly updated;

(c) In no case shall the absence of the aforementioned 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 who 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 set out in the Implementing Rules of this Act and shall be included in the
Freedom of Information Manual.

SECTION. 16. Procedure of Access. ~ (a) Any person who wishes to obtain
information shall submit a request to the government agency concerned personally, by
mail, or through electronic means. A person who is unable, because of illiteracy or
due to being a person with disability, to make a written request for information may
make an oral request, and the public official who receives the oral request shall reduce
it to writing, and include his 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
reason is contrary to law. If the request is submitted personally, the requesting party
shall show his current identification card 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 request shall be stamped by the government agency, indicating the date and

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time of receipt and the name, rank, title and position of the receiving public officer or
employee 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. Each government agency shall establish a system to trace the
status of all requests for information received by it.

(c) 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.

(d) 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, the agency has no capability in
communicating the information in the preferred format or be detrimental to the
preservation of the record.

(e) 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.

(f) 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.

(g) 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.

SECTION. 17. 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.

SECTION. 18. 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 clearly
set forth the ground or grounds for denial and the circumstances on which the denial
is based. 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.

SECTION. 19. Remedies in Cases of Denial. - (a) In all government agencies other
than the judicial branch—

(1) Every denial of a request for access to information may be appealed to the Head of

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Agency, following the procedure mentioned in Section 15 (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) Instead of appealing or after the denial of the appeal, the person denied access to
information may file a verified complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman, praying
that the government agency 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 nature of the information requested,
context of the request, public interest and danger that the information requested will
become moot. 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) Instead of filing @ complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman, whenever a
request for information is denied originally or on administrative appeal, the requesting
party 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.

(4) In resolving a complaint or petition brought under the preceding paragraphs (2)
and (3), the Ombudsman or the court is empowered to receive the information subject
of a claim of exception under Section 6 herein and examine then 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.

(c) The remedies under this section are 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.

(e) 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 requester in
availing of the remedies provided under this Act.

SECTION. 20. Keeping of Records. ~ (a) Government agencies shall create and/or

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‘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 activi

(b) Government agencies 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. In addition, the
National Archives of the Philippines shall likewise identify specific and classes of
official records that it shall require agencies to preserve and transfer to it.

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

3) The declaration under oath of the assets, liabilities and net worth of public
officers and employees, as required by law; and

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

(d) 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 programs that includes the following:

(1) A records maintenance system for the creation, selection, classification,
indexing and filing of official records that facilitates 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) A specifications of the 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 II of the Administrative Code of 1987,
the University of the Philippines Law Center shall, in coordination with the Office of

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the President which has exclusive editorial and printing jurisdiction over the Official
Gazette, and with other relevant agencies, maintain a database, and publish the same
in print in 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, memorandum circulars, general orders, and other
similar issuances;

(3) A database of all appointments and designations made by the President of
the Philippines; and

(4) Opinions of the Secretary of Justice.

SECTION. 21. Publication in the Official Gazette. For purposes of mandatory
disclosure as provided in section 7 of this Act, online publication in the Official
Gazette website shall be 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 on the document, shall be considered as official
publication:

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

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

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

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

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

SECTION 22. Act Not a Bar to Claim of Right to Information 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 III, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution.

SECTION 23. Separability Clause. — \f any section or part of this Act is held
unconstitutional, no other section or provision shall be affected.

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SECTION 24. 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 of Executive Order No. 292 in relation to Article 2 of
Republic Act No. 386, Memorandum Circular No. 78 dated 14 August 1964
(Promulgating Rules Governing Security of Classified Matter in Government
Offfices), 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.

SECTION 25. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

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