CASE STUDY
WHY ARE FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION REQUESTS
IN THE PHILIPPINES BEING
DENIED?
MARIA ELENA ELLO
DIST-2A
INTRODUCTION:
The program on Freedom of Information (FOI) implemented in the Philippines
has the noble objective of accountability to allow the public to inspect records within the
government’s custody. However, a number of such requests are declined which limits its
effectiveness. This paper takes a practice-oriented approach in explaining the refusal of
certain FOI requests, with a view to identifying the emerging patterns and barriers in the
FOI request system.
BACKGROUND ANALYSIS:
The Freedom to Information policy in the Philippines was operationalized by the
issuance of Executive Order No. 2, which directs all government agencies to implement
information access. However, the implemented FOI has limitations which include; high
denial rates and low levels of functioning. Certain behaviors of the state apparatus and
persons are discussed in the paper as responsible for these discrepancies which make
visible the operational flaws of the FOI. The relevant actors are the citizens of the
Philippines who make requests, the government institutions which receive such
requests, and institutions that give authority such as the Presidential Communications
Operations Office (PCOO), amongst others.
IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEMS:
Some of the key challenges faced are outlined below:
1.Red Tape: There are layers of different agencies operating in different standards
making cross agency access hard.
2.Refusal Rates in Epidemiology: More often refusal arises due to lack of proper
understanding of an within a department which turns to be a sequential forwarding of a
request to different departments.
3.Lack of Information regarding Appeals to the Public: The public faces challenges in
appealing against adverse decisions and there is no information about the outcome of
the appeals.
4.Bad Record Keeping: Most organizations avail information that is not available in their
publications because the record keeping structures are poorly organized.
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS:
1. Fostering Consistent Standards in Processing FOI Requests: Creating and
implementing a uniform standard in the conduct of FOI procedures across government
agencies.
2. Promoting Record Management Facilities: Extend the same data storage and recovery
mechanisms to all government offices.
3. Clarity on the appeals process: The absence of such legislation may not necessarily
deter the request and appeals process; on the contrary, such a formulation may be
welcomed for the sake of clarity and order and placed within the FOI portal’s
functionalities.
4. Knowledge and Understanding of FOI: In such countries which have formal systems
of making requests for information, better training for the officials processing these
requests may alleviate much of the request denials which arise due to
miscommunication of the requests by the information seekers or incorrect provision of
the information by the service providers.
RECOMMENDED COURSE ACTION:
Establishing a Centralized FOI Database: Such a system will help to alleviate the
challenges of record keeping and help agencies provide the right responses.
1. Add an Appeals Portal: It is possible to incorporate the appeals process in the
submission of any changes that are sought on an FOI application, including the reasons
for the changes provided by the applicant, before consideration of the request for
changes is agreed to.
2. Insist on Periodic Reviews of FOI Applications: The prompt evaluation of the
successful resolution of specific information requests would also assist in averting or
lessening the severity of the.
CONCLUSION:
The government is implementing the recommendations in the FOI by confronting
several structural challenges including harmonization of request procedures and
enhancing data accessibility. In addressing these challenges, the Philippines will be able
to enhance the openness which entails providing citizens with access to pertinent
government information as it should be in any democratic nation.
