RECEIVED
DATE: _3.0 iit 2016,

TINE: _2 i 72.
BY: a

REISTRATION UNIT
BILLS AND INDEX SERVICE

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

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bilt No.__'?'?

Introduced by DIWA Party-list Representative Emmeline Y. Aglipay — Villar

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Coming off a heated election season where some would have preferred to see their
opponents reduced to silence, it is important to remind ourselves that what is essential in a
democracy is the participation of its citizenry — not just those who are in agreement with the
State, or with the majority, but any and all who desire to engage with the way their nation is
run. In a representative democracy such as our own, one of the key factors that determines the
extent and quality of that participation is the extent and quality of the citizens’ access to
information. Without transparency, it is far too easy for a republican government to lose its
representative character, for those who have the duty to make manifest the will of the citizens
to, instead, operate as they see fit behind a veil of secrecy strung between pillars of
bureaucratic red tape. Whether officials do so out of a conviction that they know better than
the public, or from a callous desire to advance their own interests at the expense of the public
good, such actions take the reins of power from their rightful holders, the sovereign people of
the Phitippines.

The practical arguments in support of greater transparency are clear: it ensures greater
accountability of government officials, a better accounting of government funds, a more level
playing field in the competition for government contracts/services, greater involvement from
the citizenry and more informed decisions during elections.

But at its very core, this issue is not just about the benefits of an actualized,
implemented, institutionalized right to information of public concem -- it's about the essence
of democracy, the locus of its authority. If we continue to claim that we are a republic, that
we are a democracy, then we must acknowledge that any power that the State has, including
its right to control the release and dissemination of information, is power that flows from the
people, and rightly belongs to the people. In the case of freedom of information, the people

have spoken loud and clear, and we have embodied their sentiments as best we could in this
bill.

This bill is based on the 16th Congress Committee version of the Freedom of
Information Bill. It includes the Open Data Policy and it provides an exception to personal
information from the right to access to information which is granted under Section 5. This bill

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makes the following substantial changes: (1) it mandates agencies to make key information
accessible to the visually impaired, acknowledging that they have special needs that must be
met in order for them to exercise their right to information; (2) it increases the criminal liability
for violations to the provisions of the law; (3) it adds provisions which prevents delays to
compliance with disclosure of information by decreasing the ability of a public officer to tie up a
Tequest in red tape; and (4) it shortens the period for compliance with capacity building
provisions, and provides greater clarity as to the standard for acceptable compliance with the
online site and security aspects of such provisions, particularly in the light of the numerous
hacking incidents our government websites have fallen prey to.

Freedom of information is promised by our Constitution, promises that have been
echoed by past administrations that have, to this day, remained unfulfilled. It falls now to this
Congress to truly perform its duty, and represent the people by making manifest their intent: a
government that is transparent, forthcoming, and accountable

bid H. Valen
EMMELINE Y. AGLIPAY ~ VILLAR
Representative, DIWA Party-list

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

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. ___ 77

Introduced by DIWA Party-list Representative Emmeline Y. Aglipay ~ Villar

AN ACT
STRENGTHENING 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 "People's Freedom of
Information Act."

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy - The State recognizes the right of the people to
information on matters of public concem 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

SECTION 3. Coverage. — This Act shall cover all government agencies, to refer to
the executive, legislative, and judicial branches as well as the constitutional bodies of the
Republic of the Philippines, including 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, govemment-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 of Senators and Representatives, the
Supreme Court and all lower courts established by law.

SECTION 4. Definition of Terms. — as used in this Act

a) "Dataset" refers to an organized collection of data in a variety of forms, including
tabular, geospatial, or image data files

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b) "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, audio 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

c) "Machine-readable" refers to formats that allow data to be extracted and processed by
computer programs.

4) "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

e) "Open format" refers 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.

£) "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.

SECTION 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.

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 retums, and statement of assets, liabilities and net worth
(SALN) of public officials shall be released subject to existing laws, niles 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.

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information. The request for information may be denied only i

SECTION 6. Presumption. - There shall be a legal presumption in favor of access to
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.

a)

b)

°

SECTION 7. Exceptions. - Access to information shall be granted unless:

The information is specifically authorized to be kept secret under guidelines
established by an executive order, and properly classified pursuant thereto; provided,
that said executive order may only validly use one or both of the following grounds to
classify information as secret: (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; and/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 of multilateral negotiation or seriously jeopardize the diplomatic relations of
the Philippines with one or more States: provided further, that the executive order
must specify the reasonable period after which the information shall be automatically
declassified or be subject to mandatory declassification review, and such a period is
required for the executive order to be the grounds for a valid exception under this Act.

Any reasonable doubt shali be settled in favor of the information being unclassified /
not secret, and hence available to the public.

The information consists of records of minutes and advice given and opinions
expressed during decision-making or policy formulation, while said policies and
decisions are still the subject of active deliberation and final decisions have not yet
been made, and the same has been classified in an Executive Order 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 shall be made
available for disclosure unless they were made in executive session;

The information requested pertains to intemal and/or external defense, law
enforcement, and border control, if the disclosure thereof would:

i.unduly compromise or interfere with any ongoing legitimate military or law
enforcement operation; or

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

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iii, 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, such as one
under the Witness Protection Program of Republic Act No. 6981 or similar
laws, including those belonging to a government, or foreign agency, or a
private person or entity which furnished information on a confidential basis in
the course of an investigation or to an agency conducting a lawful national
security intelligence investigation;

v.disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or
prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations
or prosecutions, provided that such disclosure could reasonably be expected to
risk circumvention of the law, or

vi.directly 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;

€) The information requested is obtained by either House of Congress, or any committee
thereof, in executive session, whenever the information falls under any of the exceptions
provided under this sectio

£) 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 personal privacy. This may include signatures, addresses,
telephone numbers, identification numbers, names of 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 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

8) The information requested pertains to trade, industrial, financial or commercial secrets
obtained from a natural or juridical person other than the requesting party, obtained in
confidence by or filed with a government agency, whenever the revelation thereof

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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;

j) When prematurely disclosed, the information, would, in the case of a goverment
agency that regulates or deals with the commodities markets, currencies, interest rates,
securities, or financial institutions, likely lead to fraud, manipulation, or other
unlawful acts or schemes involving currencies, interest rates, securities. 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 ageney in custody or
control of the information, or any responsible central or field officer/s duly designated by
him.

SECTION 8. Qualifications to the Exceptions.

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, or when they are necessary to reveal the truth about the existence of the

same pursuant to a case duly filed in a court of law;

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.

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SECTION 9. Mandatory Disclosure of Information.—

a) In fulfillment of Article XI, Section 17 of the Constitution and subject to Section §
and Section 7 (f) of this Act, the websites of their respective offices shall provide to
the public, the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net worth (SALN) on an annual
basis of the following national officials.

The President;

The Vice-President;

The members of the Cabinet;

The members of the Senate and the House of Representatives:

The Justices of the Supreme Court;

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.

on aynn

b) All agencies of all branches of government shall publish on their websites and update
on a monthly basis, a register containing the following information

1) Freedom of Information Manual in full;

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

3) Substantive rules of general applicability, 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:

ii, Itemized Monthly Collections and Disbursement;

iii, Summary of Income and Expenditures;

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

vy. Annual Procurement Plan and Procurement List;

vi, Items for Bidding;

vii. Bid Results on Civil Works, and Goods and Services,
vili. 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

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No. 6957, otherwise known as the Philippine BCT 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.

When applicable, the official record shall contain a brief description of the transaction
involved, including 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 in the website of all concemmed government agencies
and the Official Gazette Online, subject to the succeeding section. A covered record shall be
published in the website not later than thirty (30) Working days from its perfection of
issuance.

©) All-government agencies shall, over time, endeavor to build their capacity and
practice to publish in full all other contracts, agreements, or treaties covered under
this section especially 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 altemative mechanism, to
facilitate substantive compliance not later two (2) years from the effectivity of this
Act.

) A website that is down or inaccessible to the public for more than seven consecutive

days, or for more than twenty days total in a calendar year, shall be deemed to be non-
compliant with the requirements abovementioned.

SECTION 10. Promotion of Openness in Government. —

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

2.

3

10 9

A description of its mandate, structure, powers, functions,
duties and decision-making processes,

A description of the frontline services it delivers and the
procedure and length of time by which they may be availed of,
The names of its key officials, their powers, functions and
responsibilities, and their profiles and curriculum vitae;

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

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

Datasets generated in the implementation of agency mandates,
programs, activities, and projects such as statistics, figures and
geospatial data,

Current and important database and statistics that it generates;
Bidding processes and requirements, and

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

b. 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. Every government agency shall
also endeavor to render key information in a manner that is accessible to
the visually impaired,

SECTION 11. Capacity-B:

Iding, Promotion of Best Practices, and Continuous

Updating of Appropriate Use of information Technology. ~

Every government agency shall 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 concern and the provisions of this Act. Similarly, all government agencies shall
endeavor to study and adopt best practices in relation to information disclosure, records

maintenance, and archiving.

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Every government agency shall have employees that are trained in the operation and
maintenance of their websites;

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

SECTION 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 only 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, in denying the request,
complies with Section 20 of this Act.

SECTION 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. Such
security arrangements must include, but is not limited to, regular
assessments of existing site security, and the existence of written
contingency plans or protocols in the event of breach, in order to minimize
damage to the government and the privacy of individuals;

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.

SECTION 14. Administrative Liability. - It shall be tantamount to gross neglect of
duty and shall be a ground for administrative and disciplinary sanction against any public
official or employee, should any such employee willfully and knowingly commits the
following acts:

a. Refusal to promptly forward the request under Section 18 of this Act to the
public officer within the same office of 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,

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c. Claiming an exception under Section 7 of this Act when the claim is
manifestly devoid of factual or legal basis,

d. Refusal to comply with the decision of an 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.

SECTION 15. Criminal Liabili

a. The following acts shall be subject to the penalty of imprisonment of not less than six
(6) months but not more than one (1) year, 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 induces or causes the commission of the
foregoing acts shall be liable as principal by inducement in the prosecution of public
officials of employees under this section

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 the person found liable.

SECTION 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

SECTION 17. Freedom of Information (FON Manual. —

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

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;

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b)
°)

d)

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 two (2) years from the approval of
this Act; and

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

The FOI 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

In no case shall the absence of the aforementioned FOI Manual be a reason for the
denial of any request for information made in accordance with this Act

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 FOI Manual

SECTION 18. Procedure of Access. -

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 one's 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 govemment agency
shall communicate such information to the requesting party: Proviced, That the stated
reason shall not be used as a ground to deny the request or to refusse the acceptance of
the request, unless the request is clearly contrary to law. If the request is submitted

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b)

d)

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.

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.

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 one's signature
thereon, and shall furnish the requesting party a copy thereof. In case the request is
submitted by electronic means, the govemment agency shall provide for an equivalent
means by which the requirements of this paragraph shall be met. Each government
agency shall establish a system by which the status of all request for information
received by it may be verified at any time

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.

A goverment 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.

‘The government agency shall comply with the 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. It is sufficient that the government
agency have access to or possession of the record requested for said government
agency to be required to comply with the request, and it may not delay such
compliance by requiring the citizen to re-submit the request to another government
agency, or to submit any documentation

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g) The government agency shall, in writing or through electronic means, notify the
person of 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 a total 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 shall pay the required access and processing fees

i) If the 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.

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

SECTION 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

SECTION 21. Remedies in Cases of Denial. —

a) Inall 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 filing, Failure to resolve the appeal

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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 decision 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 an 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 of petition brought under paragraphs (2) and (3)
hereof, the Ombudsman or the court is empowered to receive the
information subject of a claim of exception under Section 7 herein, and to
examine them in camera to determine the sufficiency of the factual and
legal basis of such claim, when the sufficiency cannot be reasonably
determined through evidence and circumstances apart from the
information

b) In the Judicial Branch ~ The Judiciary shall be governed by remedies as promulgated
by 24 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.

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In case the requesting party has limited or no financial capacity, the Public Attomey’s
Office is mandated to provide legal assistance to the requesting party in availing of
the remedies provided under this Act.

SECTION 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 of 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 arid 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 of their legitimate successors, or for
proper documentation if and when the records are transferred to the National Archives
of the Philippines

©) 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 goverment contracts involving amounts Fifty Million
Pesos (Php 50,000,000.00) or more, or related to infrastructure, public
and private partnerships, utilities, or other important projects;
3) The original Declarations 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, according to the standards set in and within the
period mandated by Republic Act No. 9470 or the National Archives of the
Philippines Act of 2007, a records management program that includes the following:

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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

€) 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 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, 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 rendered by the Secretary of Justice.

SECTION 23. Publication in the Official Gazette. - For purposes of mandatory
disclosure as provided in Section 9 of this Act, the 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:

a) All important legislative acts and resolutions of a public nature of the Congress of the
Philippines;
b) All executive and administrative orders and proclamations of general application;

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©) 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;

d) Such documents or classes of documents as the President shall determine from time to
time to have general application or which he may authorize 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 24. 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 Ill, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution.

SECTION 25. Publication of Government Data in the Open Data Philippines
Website. - For purposes of enhancing the public's access to government information and
abiding by the Philippines’ intemational commitments to transparency and government
openness, all government agencies shall publish in the Open Data Philippines website,
datasets generated in the implementation of agency mandates, programs, activities, and
projects. These datasets shall be updated, whenever permissible, at least once in every quarter
of every 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.

SECTION 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.

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SECTION 27. Release to One, Release to All. - For purposes of streamlining
requests for information, once an 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.

SECTION 28. Integration of Freedom of Information (FOI) 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 Commission and other relevant offices, shall prepare the necessary modules and
teaching programs consistent with the objectives of this Act.

SECTION 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 they received, processed, granted and denied of appeals
made from denials of such requests, and of pending court actions they are 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

SECTION 30. - Appropriations - The amount necessary to carry out the provisions
of this Act shall be charged against those authorized in the current and subsequent General
Appropriations Acts.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 32. Repenling Clause. ~ All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and
regulations, issuances or any part thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act,
including Sections 18 on Operation and Effect of Laws, 24 and 25 on the Contents, Editing
and Publications of the Official Gazette. Book 1, of Executive Order No. 292 or the
Administrative Code of 1987 in relation to Article 2 on Effect and Application of Laws 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:

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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)

SECTION 33, Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,

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