THE MEMORANDUM Circular (MC) No. 15 issued by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin issued No. 15 left extra official goings and public information blurry by the Palace because it up to date former President Rodrigo Duterte’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Executive Order (EO) No. 2 final March 17.
CMFR recollects how the media cheered Duterte’s order, citing sources who identified the liberal impulse it mirrored. Only a number of picked up the news on the Marcos FOI replace of Duterte’s EO No. 2 on FOI. But even then, solely Inquirer reviewed how the coverage retained present prohibitions on residents’ entry on authorities data
Four news organizations recognized totally different classes of exemptions. Philippine Daily Inquirer in its banner story on March 24 famous how the Marcos’ coverage had extra exemptions, having added information and knowledge relating to any investigation by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and names of victims of gender-based sexual harassment in public. CNN Philippines on March 22 famous that information of suspected terrorists can be inaccessible. Meanwhile, ABS-CBN Online on March 23 reported how “birth records, school records, or medical or personal information” have been added as exceptions. A column by Yen Makabenta within the Manila Times in contrast the FOI within the Philippines and within the US.
FOI’s historical past of failure in Congress
The first Freedom of Information (FOI) invoice dates again to the Nineties and stays in legislative limbo. Duterte’s EO mandating entry to data held by businesses within the government department was hailed by authorities officers and by FOI advocates such because the Right to Know Right Now (R2KRN) Coalition and different media organizations. When it was signed quickly after Rodrigo Duterte took workplace on July 23, 2016, media studies cheered it as a landmark measure. Reports then didn’t observe that President Fidel V. Ramos had issued an FOI order as properly with the identical restricted utility to government department businesses.
FOI EO laid down a coverage of full public disclosure, and transparency in public service to advertise accountability and set pointers for requesting and releasing data. From 166 exceptions, the listing was narrowed to 9 exceptions that are:
Freedom of Exceptions
CMFR then famous that the ninth merchandise served as a “catch-all” of all different limitations, which diminished the state of entry to sq. one.
Some news organizations additionally reported how FOI resulted in “unintended consequences” that haven’t all the time led to transparency; typically requests have been denied and knowledge was saved and took longer to be launched.
Worsened by the pandemic, in 2020, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) famous how only one in 10 of COVID-19 requests by journalists has been granted. Further, beneath EO 2, most authorities businesses aside from the Office of the President (OP) have been enrolled within the digital FOI (eFOI) portal.
PCIJ in May 2022 additionally confirmed how one in each 4 requests have been denied or remained pending for an indefinite time for the reason that begin of Duterte’s time period. The media outlet added that the “numbers do not tell the whole story.” The Executive Branch approves 40% of FOI requests however among the data, regardless of marked as “successful,” weren’t launched or is irrelevant to the info requested.
Inquirer in October 2022 requested data on Marcos’ journeys since he took workplace. However, the media group was denied “on the ground that the documents/lists requested are not among the records in the possession of the OP.” In the Duterte administration, the Inquirer was in a position to receive such data.
Marcos’ FOI order acquired tangled in its implementation as a result of he issued earlier an EO No. 2 on June 30, which merged plenty of places of work beneath the Office of the President (OP). But after vlogger Trixie Cruz-Angeles exited the Palace, the communications arm was renamed the Presidential Communications Office (PCO). According to EO No. 16 issued on February 13, the FOI Program Management Office, together with different places of work, returned to the PCO. Designed for higher effectivity, the reorganization delayed the implementation of the FOI.
It is troublesome to say whether or not the FOI will flourish and enhance public entry to data beneath Marcos. Duterte’s mannequin did little to advertise transparency in authorities.
Some journalists have questioned the credibility of the Marcos administration to undertake a marketing campaign towards “fake news.” The identical doubts might be raised concerning the sincerity of opening up authorities data to the media and the general public.