2004 freedominfo.org Global Survey Results - Philippines
Text from the freedominfo.org Global Survey: Freedom of Information and Access to Government Records Around the World, by David Banisar (updated 12 May 2004)

The right to information was first included in the 1973 Constitution and was expanded in the current 1987 Constitution. Article III, Section 7, states:

"The right of the people to information of matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records and 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." (1)

The Supreme Court as far back as 1948 recognized the importance of access to information (2) and has issued a series of rulings. (3)

There is no freedom of information act per se in the Philippines but a combination of the Constitutional right and various other legal provisions makes it one of the most open countries in the region. (4) The Supreme Court ruled in 1987 that the right could be applied directly without the need for an additional act. (5)

The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (6) mandates disclosure of public transactions and guarantees access to official information, records or documents. The Act sets a policy of "full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest." Agencies must act on a request within 15 working days from receipt of the request.

The implementing regulations of the law contain a list of exemptions, including documents related to national security and foreign affairs, information that would cause imminent harm to an individual, privileged information, drafts or decisions, orders, rulings, policy, decisions, memoranda, and information that would intrude into personal privacy, impede law enforcement and cause financial instability.

The Code also requires that public officials disclose information about their assets, liabilities, net worth and businesses interests. The information is available to the public but use for commercial purposes or "contrary to morals or public policy" is prohibited.

Complaints against public officials and employees who fail to act on an information request can be filed with the Civil Service Commission or the Office of the Ombudsman. The courts can hear cases once administrative remedies have been exhausted.

Even with the comparative openness of the government, there are continuing problems. These include a lack of knowledge about the requirements set by the Supreme Court and the Code, a mindset against releasing information, a poor information infrastructure that causes electronic data to be lost and the low quality of information gathered by government departments on many issues including the environment. (7)

Civil society groups have formed the Access to Information Network and are calling for the adoption of a new law. A number of bills are pending in the Parliament but are not expected to pass before the next election in 2004.

Notes

1. Constitution of Philippines, http://www.chanrobles.com/philsupremelaw1.htm

2. Abelardo Subido, Editor, The Manila Post, petitioner, vs. Roman Ozeta, Secretary of Justice, and Mariano Villanueva, Register of Deeds of City of Manila, respondents. G.R. No. L-1631. February 27, 1948. http://www.aer.ph/projects/infodisc/cases/pdf/subido.pdf

3. See AER, Selected Cases on Information Disclosure: http://www.aer.ph/content/blogcategory/70/49/

4. See Yvonne Chua, The Philippines: A Liberal Information Regime even without an Information Law. http://www.freedominfo.org/case/phil1.htm

5. Legaspi v. Civil Service Commission, 150 SCRA 530, May 29, 1987. http://www.aer.ph/content/view/144/49/

6. Republic Act 6713 of 1987. http://www.tag.org.ph/phillaw/law4-RA6713.htm

7. See Chua, ibid.