Rama issues FOI guidelines

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama finally signed yesterday the ordinance operationalizing the Freedom of Information in the city government and providing guidelines for its implementation.

This came over a month after the City Council headed by then vice mayor Donaldo Hontiveros approved the said ordinance authored by then councilor and now congressman Edu Rama.

Mayor Rama said such is also a fitting testament to Hontiveros' competence while expressing how proud he is of his nephew congressman Rama for pushing for this matter to be an ordinance.

More to it, Rama was happy that this came under his incumbency though wishing Rep. Rama was with as he signs the FOI ordinance.

“I am proud as your Mayor that this has occurred in my incumbency,” said Rama.

Earlier, Cong. Rama also expressed how important such an ordinance is.

“The City of Cebu recognizes the importance of the people’s right to government information, and guided by the President’s Executive Order, the Cebu City government deems it necessary to provide a local mechanism for its offices where the people’s right to information on matters of public concern is promoted, respective and upheld,” said Cong. Rama of the South District of Cebu City.

The ordinance states that the city of Cebu believes in the value of transparency in governance as a matter of the constitutional right of the people to access information.

“I am going to be signing this particular ordinance because this brings the highlight on how to access public information ..that’s always been the concern,” said Rama.

Rama also acknowledges that many of their staff in the Public Information Office also came from different media outlets in Cebu and how important access to information is.

In 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte issued an executive order in the executive branch on the people’s right to information and state policies to full public disclosure and transparency in public service.

With the executive order having limited scope, the local government units were enjoined to observe the same.

City Ordinance no. 2657l covers all government offices under the Cebu City government.

“Every Filipino shall have access to information, official public records, or documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as government research data used as the basis for policy development, in the custody of the Cebu City government.”

However, access to information will be denied for that information that falls under the exceptions enshrined in the Constitution, existing laws, or jurisprudence.

With this, the City Legal Officer is also directed to prepare a local inventory regarding the FOI exceptions and submit it to the City Council 30 days from the date of the ordinance’s effectivity for approval.

While access to information is made available, the protection of privacy is also ensured in the said ordinance with offices expected to disclose personal information that is relevant to the subject matter while information shall only be disclosed if authorized to do so.

The FOI focal person or receiving officers will be the City’s Public Information Officer for any request of information from offices.

The ordinance also states that no government offices shall charge any fee for accepting requests for access to information but pegs fee for printing, photocopying, or certification services and will be paid to the City Treasurer while the failure of any Cebu City government officer or employee mandates to comply with some of the provisions under the said ordinance without valid justification will be penalized accordingly.

Other records and documents not included in the local inventory of FOI exceptions will also have to be uploaded by the PIO for public consumption.

CCPC Comment

The Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC), for its part, applauded the signing of the

Freedom of Information (FOI) ordinance by Rama.

Last June 1,  CCPC appealed to the Ctty Council “to finish its work”  on the ordinance before the term of the 15th Sangguniang Panlungsod  was to end last June 30.  And  the City Council did, with councilor, now Congressman, Eduardo  “Edu” Rama Jr. as principal author.  And today, July 28, Mayor Rama signed the ordinance (#2657) into law..

The new ordinance  is similar to the ordinance  (#3273), authored by then councilor Jose Daluz III, which  the 14th Sanggungian passed but Mayor Rama’s predecessor  vetoed in 2017.

It is another step toward institutionalizing access to information, started  with  President Duterte’s executive order  of July 23, 2016 that “operationalized” access to information in the executive branch, CCPC said in a statement penned by Atty. Pachico A. Seares, CCPC executive director.

The City ordinance  seeks to provide the local mechanism for Cebu City Government offices “where the people’s right to information is upheld," it added.

 "It has been a painfully slow program for FOI,  thus the local media’s  applause for each step taken on the road to  better  access, which the ordinance promises to provide, subject only to valid exceptions or limitations provided by the Constitution and laws and ordinances," rhe statement said.

But CCPC notes though that that the approved ordinance does not include the qualifier that the Press Council  had proposed  in its appearance before the City Council and dialogue with then councilor Rama  and in published statements, namely:

"That the procedure shall not  mean that Cebu City Government offices   and their officials  will  require release of  information, verbally or in a document, to go through the procedure prescribed in the ordinance.   The FOI ordinance shall not do away with routine flow of news and information through press briefings, conferences and news releases. The city administration shall even encourage unilateral release of documents  in hard copy or through  emails and  digital news sites, as long as they don’t fall under the exceptions listed  under the ordinance," it said.

"CCPC hopes to see the FOI ordinance  serve its  avowed intent and purpose.   We  cannot rule out  problems in implementation but the mayor, by executive order, or the City Council, by amendment, will have the option and means to  solve  them. We trust in their genuine wish to make the ordinance work," it added. — JMD (FREEMAN)