THE FREEDOM of Information (FOI) bill stands to encourage greater accountability and transparency in government. If applied, the people would be given easier access to information from the government and its agencies. Instructor Joy Aceron of the Ateneo School of Government said that the bill “also builds trust and confidence between [the] State and society which is critical in our country where faith in government is really low.”

Faster access to documents

rA 6713, or the Code of Conduct for Public officials, stipulates that officials only need to reply within 15 days of request for information.

The bill, however, compels all government offices to comply with information requests on matters of public concern within ten days from receipt of the written request.

No denial of information

Today, access to or denial of information is under the discretion of the government offices.

with the bill at hand, “clear and convincing evidence” must be presented if the information requested would not be disclosed.

Penalties for refusal of information

According to Section 16 of the bill, if the reasons for denial of information are not within the parameters for disclosure of information, a P1000 fine per day from the date of the notice of disclosure until the date of compliance will be given to the concerned government agency.

Clear-cut procedure

Under the system proposed by the bill, a person should submit a letter of request indicating the information he needs and for what reason. The agency must comply within ten days. Extension of not more than 15 days will be given in special cases.

Better archiving

Because government records are prone to misplacement and arbitrary destruction, the bill, proposes that criminal liability should be given to any official convicted of destroying information.

This is stated in Section 15 of the FoI bill.