WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Senate Bill 1733People's Freedom

of Information Act of 2013

Senator Escudero (Senate Bill 18)Senator Trillanes (S.B. 36)Senator Osmeña (S.B. 44), Senator Honasan (S.B. 64), Senator Guingona (S.B. 74), Senator Alan Cayetano (S.B. 90), Senator Ejercito (S.B. 217), Senator Legarda (S.B. 514),Senator Angara (S.B. 1219), and Philippine Senate Resolution 102 by Senator Poe, as well as the Petition for Indirect Initiative filed by civil society groups.

A consolidation of 10 legislative proposals

History of the FOI Bill

• FOI bill has been discussed, dissected,scrutinized, debated and bypassed by previous Congresses;

• The very first FOI bill was filed in 1992;

• Senate Bill 1733 is substantially similar to the version that was approved on Third Reading by the previous 15th Congress.

Commitment of the 16th Congress

• The Senate has passed the bill;• The leadership of the House of

Representatives have openly declared support for it;

• Malacañang has announced that the FOI bill will be included in the Administration’s list of priority measures.

Getting it there…• The Senate and the Lower House conducted

two (2) public hearings where views from the broad spectrum of the Philippine society were gathered and carefully studied;

• The academe, the Philippine business sector, media organizations, civil society, social media "netizens," the defense department and Executive officials were consistently consulted.

Salient Points of Senate Bill 1733

Full Title• "An Act Implementing the People's Right to

Information and the Constitutional Policies of Full Public Disclosure and Honesty in the Public Service and For Other Purposes” otherwise known as;

• The People's Freedom of Information Act of 2013.

Constitutional Mandate

• People's right to information is long enshrined in our Constitution;

• The Declaration of Principles and State Policies, and under Section 28, Article II of the Philippine Charter;

Constitutional Mandate• The people's "right to know" is recognized

in Section 7, Article III of the Constitution:"The right of the people to information on

matters of public concern shall be recognized.Access to official records, and to documents andpapers pertaining to official acts, transactions,or decisions, as well as to government researchdata used as basis for policy development, shallbe afforded the citizen, subject to suchlimitations as may be provided by law."

Constitutional Mandate

• Senate Bill 1733 is to be the implementing law of the Constitutional Mandate;

• The measure provides the general framework of rules and guidelines, exemptions and limitations, procedures and penalties in the exercise of this right.

Highlighted Provisions of Senate Bill 1733

Section 4• the FOI rule on full public disclosure

covers all government agencies and instrumentalities which includes the Executive, Legislative, Judicial branches of government, constitutionally-mandated bodies, local governments as well as government-owned-and-controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs);

Section 4• "public service contractors" are

included such as foundations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and peoples' organizations (POs) as among those to be covered by the FOI law, insofar as their contract or transactions with government are concerned;

Section 5

• every Filipino citizen the right to request and be granted access to any record or information that is under the control of government, subject to the limitations enumerated in the FOI Act.

Section 6

• "there shall be a legal presumption in favor of access to information. No request for information shall be denied unless it clearly falls under the exceptions provided under the Act."

Section 7States the exceptions to the FOI rule such as:• Information that could cause serious damage to

national security and our country's internal and/or external defense;

• Information that could unduly weaken our country's bargaining position in international negotiations or seriously affect diplomatic relations with other countries;

Section 7• Information that could compromise law

enforcement operations and endanger the life of an individual;

• Information that was obtained by Congress in executive session;

• Information covered by “Presidential Privilege“;

• Information pertaining to trade secrets and commercial information;

Section 7• If the information requested would constitute

an unwarranted invasion of an individual's right to privacy;

• Specific interpretation which states that..

“no exemptions be used to cover up a crime, wrongdoing, graft or corruption”

Section 8Requires government agencies to upload on their respective websites the following information:• The Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net

Worth (SALNs) of those like the office of the President, Vice President, Cabinet members, members of both Houses of Congress, Justices of the Supreme Court, members of Constitutional Bodies, and officers of the Armed Forces of star rank;

Section 8• All information pertaining to their Annual

Budget, Monthly Disbursements, IRA utilization, Procurement Plan, the list of vacant positions in their agency, items for bidding and the results of the bidding, contracts entered into the government with any domestic or foreign entity, bilateral or multilateral treaties, licenses or permits granted to any entity for the extraction of natural resources;

Section 10• the right to privacy of individuals shall

always be protected, and instructs government agencies to "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."

Section 8• loans entered into by government from

any domestic or foreign financial institution including any transaction by a government agency amounting to at least 50 million pesos (50,000,000) shall be uploaded in full on official online platforms;

Section 11

• Provides the dissemination of an FOI Manual and directs all government agencies to list down the type and kind of information generated so that people will know what information is obtainable from a particular agency.

Section 12• Section 12 of the FOI Act details the

appropriate procedure how requests can be made from government agencies;

• The same section requires government officials to act and/or comply within fifteen (15) working days upon receipt of the request for information.

Section 16• provides for a system of remedies in

case the request for FOI information is denied;

• if the requesting party is not satisfied with the action of a government agency, he may file a verified complaint in the Office of the Ombudsman or file a verified petition for mandamus in a regular court.

Section 17• all government agencies are to observe good

record-keeping practices;• The section requires the set-up information

management systems allowing easy identification, retrieval and communication of the information to the public;

• government agencies are to identify specific classes of documents that have continuing historical, legal, evidentiary or research values (that the FOI stipulates they cannot dispose or destroy) and they should transfer the same to National Archives of the Philippines for preservation.

Section 19• all government agencies are directed to set-up

their respective FOI-compliant web sites within two (2) years after the law takes effect

• websites are encouraged to be user-friendly and understandable to the layman;

• government agencies are "to use plain language and translate important information into major Filipino dialects" for people to be able to appreciate the information better.

Sections 20 and 21• state that government officers who violate the

FOI Act are criminally and administratively liable;

• Section 20 enumerates acts that constitute grave administrative offenses (punishable by suspension or dismissal from the service) such as a.) failure to act on the request within the period required by the Act and b.) refusal to comply with the decision of an immediate superior, the Ombudsman or of any court ordering the release of information;

Sections 20 and 21

• Section 21 lists down thevarious acts that make agovernment officer criminallyliable for violations of the FOIAct;

Sections 20 and 21• The penalty of imprisonment shall be imposed

for not less than one (1) month but not morethan six (6) months if the following acts havebeen committed:

a.) knowingly denying the existence of existinginformation;

b.) destroying information being requested forthe purpose of frustrating the requester'saccess;

Sections 20 and 21

c.) claim an exceptionprovided under the FOI Act,when the claim is manifestlydevoid of factual basis.

Section 24• the concept of "freedom of information"

be introduced in the public schoolcurriculum and integrated in subjectssuch as Heograpiya, Kasaysayan at Sibika(HEKASI) and Araling Panlipunan for theelementary level or Social Studies andMakabayan for the high school level;

Thank You