freedom of information | news | links | measuring openness

The right to information was first included in the 1973 Constitution and was expanded in the 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)

Article II, Section 28 obliges government to fully disclose information of a public interest:

Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law, the State adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest.

The Supreme Court as far back as 1948 recognized the importance of access to information and has issued a series of rulings.(2) The Court ruled in 1987 that the right could be applied directly without the need for an additional Act.(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 Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees requires disclosure of public transactions and guarantees access to official information, records or documents.(5) The Act sets a policy of "full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest." Officials must act on a request within 15 working days from receipt of the request.

The implementing regulations of the law require that the head of each body "establish measures and standards that will ensure transparency and openness."(6)

The rules create exemptions for information and documents related to national security and foreign affairs, information that would cause imminent harm to an individual, privileged information or information exempted by another law, 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.

A comparative review by the Southeast Asian Press Alliance in 2002 found that the Philippines, even without a formal FOI law, was one of the most open in the region.(7) However, there are still many problems in accessing information, especially by non-media.(8) These include a lack of a uniform procedure to obtain information from bodies, a "fluid" scope of right due to changing government policies, limited sanctions, inadequate remedies to require disclosure, and a lack of a culture of transparency in government bodies.(9)

In 2002, civil society groups formed the Access to Information Network to press for the adoption of a FOI law. In the past several Congresses, numerous bills have been introduced but thus far none have been approved.(10)

Article 229 of the Penal Code prohibits public officers from releasing "any secret" or from "wrongfully deliver papers or copies of papers" with a maximum penalty of jail and a fine of 2,000 pesos if the release "caused serious damage to the public interest."(11)

2004 freedominfo.org Global Survey Results - Philippines

Back to top

4 NOVEMBER 2003
PHILIPPINES: Court Workers Sing, Dance For Transparency
SunStar Network (Philippines) reports that court employees, instead of chanting protest lines, sang old-time favorites and danced to boogey tunes as they demanded transparency in the disbursement of the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF).

Wearing red shirts or red armbands, the court employees called for a salary increase and transparency in the disbursement of the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF).

The alleged misuse of the JDF prompted Reps. Felix William Fuentebella, of Camarines Sur, and Gilberto Teodoro, of Tarlac, to file an impeachment complaint, which was subsequently endorsed by more than 80 congressmen.

17 JANUARY 2003
PHILIPPINES: Access to Information
A case study published today on Freedominfo.org reveals that the Philippines, despite its lack of actual freedom of information legislation, is amongst the most open democracies in Southeast Asia.

In a 2001 survey on the accessibility to the public of 43 government-held records, it fared even better than Thailand, which passed an Official Information Act in 1997. In fact, in the study conducted by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and Southeast Asian Press Alliance, 59% of Filipinos answered "Yes" when asked if records were available to the public.

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. 27 February 1948. http://www.aer.ph/images/stories/projects/id/cases/subido.pdf. For an overview of constitutional cases, see Nepomuceno A. Malaluan, Democracy, Development and Access to Official Information in the Philippines, Action for Economic Reforms,April 2001. http://www.aer.ph/images/stories/projects/id/access.pdf

3. Legaspi v. Civil Service Commission, 150 SCRA 530, 29 May 1987. http://www.aer.ph/images/stories/projects/id/cases/legaspi.pdf

4. See Yvonne Chua, The Philippines: A Liberal Information Regime even without an Information Law. http://www.freedominfo.org/features/20030117.htm

5. Republic Act 6713 of 1987. http://www.csc.gov.ph/RA6713.html

6. Rules Implementing the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. http://www.csc.gov.ph/RA6713b.html

7. Coronel, The Right to Know: Access to Information in Southeast Asia (PCIJ 2001).

8. See Article 19, Freedom of Expression and the Media, Baseline Study - Philippines, 2005. http://www.article19.org/pdfs/publications/philippines-baseline-study.pdf

9. Access to Information Network, Position Paper on Bills on People's Access to Official Information, 2 February 2005.

10. See Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Widening Access to Information. http://www.i-site.ph/Focus/access-info.html

11. Revised Penal Code, Act No 3815.

Back to top