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2007 Assessment

Philippines: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Philippines: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Public Access to Information
Indicators		Score
12	Do citizens have a legal right of access to information?	67
13	Is the right of access to information effective?	40

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Do citizens have a legal right of access to information?

12a: In law, citizens have a right of access to government information and basic government records.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Constitution, Art.III, Sec.7. Constitutional right of the people to information on matters of public concern. Access to official records, and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.

www.lawphil.net

Peer Review Comments: I understand work has started on refining the legislative framework supporting this constitutional right. See:

[ LINK ]

12b: In law, citizens have a right of appeal if access to a basic government record is denied.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Interview with attorney Marlon Manuel, executive director of Alternative Legal Assistance Center (SALIGAN) Ateneo de Manila University, Sept. 14, 2007. Citizens have the right to petition the Supreme Court for redress of any unconstitutional act.

Republic Act 6713, "Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees", 1989: Sec. 5(a) specifies acting promptly on letters and requests as an obligation of such officials and employees.

www.lawphil.net

Peer Review Comments: Although access to information is a constitutional right, not all people exercise it, as one needs a lawyer and Supreme Court order to gain access to government records once denied. The cost of litigation in the Philippines is prohibitive for ordinary people, including academics, researchers, and professional investigators. The right of appeal is usually pursued by those who have the resources and a stake in accessing government information.

12c: In law, there is an established institutional mechanism through which citizens can request government records.

Score:

YES

Comments: There is no central institution to accept such requests. A citizen must direct such a request to the agency concerned. If the request is denied then the citizen's recourse is to seek judicial action. Only a few, (definitely a minority), have set-up specific Public Information Offices of their own.

References: Interview with Yvonne Chua, journalist (formerly Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, now professor of mass communications at University of the Philippines), Sept. 12, 2007, Quezon City.

Interview with Vincent Lazatin, executive director of Transparency and Accountability Network, Sept. 11, 2007, Quezon City.

Peer Review Comments: Apart from the absence of a centralized "established institutional mechanism" where citizens can direct their requests for government records, databases and information systems of the vast array of government agencies are messy, outdated, and incomplete.

Peer Review Comments: In my interpretation, the procedure described by the reviewer comprises an institutional mechanism (and one used in most developed countries).

Is the right of access to information effective?

13a: In practice, citizens receive responses to access to information requests within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: The full report of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' Fact-Finding Board, headed by Vice-Admiral Mateo Mayuga, on the alleged participation of several generals in the 2004 election scandal due to the exposure of wiretapped conversations allegedly between Commission on Elections official V. Garcillano and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is still undisclosed. Farolan says: "When the Mayuga Report on the 'Hello Garci' controversy was completed, its summary [two pages] -- not the whole report -- was released under the most unusual circumstances. No copies of the summary were made available to the media and today it remains one of the most closely guarded documents in AFP history." The summary only stated that no witnesses were found who had direct knowledge of participation of the generals in election fraud.

References: "What is happening to the Armed Forces?" by Ramon J. Farolan, Philippine Star, Aug. 13, 2007, page A15.

Interview with Yvonne Chua, journalist (formerly Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, now professor of mass communications at University of the Philippines), Sept. 12, 2007, Quezon City.

Interview with Vincent Lazatin, executive director of Transparency and Accountability Network, Sept. 11, 2007, Quezon City.

Peer Review Comments: I disagree on the grounds that the Philippines is noted as having one of the most progressive and active freedom of information frameworks:

[ LINK ]

While I understand the example cited, it is but one example and it is a bit dated.

13b: In practice, citizens can use the access to information mechanism at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: Cost is not being used as a means to restricting information. All those I have consulted agree that, as long as access is granted, photocopying cost is all that needs to be shouldered.

Interview with Vincent Lazatin, executive director of Transparency and Accountability Network, Sept. 11, 2007, Quezon City.

Peer Review Comments: The unsystematic, incomplete, and outdated mechanism for storing government information and data can prove to be costly to citizens who want to retrieve and reconstruct a sensible and usable body of knowledge that can be employed in addressing a particular concern, issue, or question. Oftentimes, national records do not reflect data in local government field agencies. The discrepancy in information between the national and local government agencies on the one hand, and between the state and civil society organizations on the other hand, makes it imperative for citizens to seek out alternative sources of information -- usually information and data gathered by reputable academic institutions, private research firms, or international research and development agencies. Accessing these databases requires some financial outlay on the part of interested individuals and citizens, and it is definitely not inexpensive.

Peer Review Comments: The reviewer -- in a previous response -- noted that information is accessible. However, from what I know of the Philippines, you cannot just walk right in and get what you want in the same afternoon.

Yet, if one is persistent and connected enough, one can obtain the necessary information (as the many media "splashes" show).

13c: In practice, citizens can resolve appeals to access to information requests within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments:

Interview with Vincent Lazatin, executive director of Transparency and Accountability Network, Sept. 11, 2007, Quezon City.

Yet, if one is persistent and connected enough, one can obtain the necessary information (as the many media "splashes" show).

13d: In practice, citizens can resolve appeals to information requests at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

Interview with attorney Marlon Manuel, executive director of Alternative Legal Assistance Center (SALIGAN) Ateneo de Manila University; Sept. 14, 2007, Quezon City

13e: In practice, the government gives reasons for denying an information request.

Score:

100

Comments:

Interview with attorney Marlon Manuel, executive director of Alternative Legal Assistance Center (SALIGAN) Ateneo de Manila University; Sept. 14, 2007, Quezon City.

Peer Review Comments: In my experience, you cannot walk into a Deptartment, ask for information, and receive the response "we can't tell why we are not giving it to you."

An excuse is given, no matter how lame (which is more than you get in many countries).