PCIJ, DOJ team up to promote transparency through FOI advocacy

BY JOSSA RAFONCEL PAR & REBECCA SOTO | PHOTO BY

THE PHILIPPINE Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) teamed with the Department of Journalism (DOJ) to conduct the “Accessing Government Information to Inform Advocacy Campaign” forum at the Audio Visual Room, College of Communication on May 19, 2023.

PCIJ Executive Director Carmela Fonbuena said that Freedom of Information (FOI) still receives inconsistent responses from government agencies despite being guaranteed by the 1997 Constitution.

Christel Sobredo of the Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA) revealed the poor data management of most government agencies in terms of data presentation, formatting, transparency, and quality of the data provided by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

“Yung data nila is not flexible. Related Studies lang ‘yung binigay hindi ‘yung data na gusto talaga namin,” Sobredo added.

Sobredo emphasized the importance of data for references, visualization of issues, and policy development, including the utilization of FOI to request documents, statistics, policies, and insights from government agencies.

Partido Manggagawa addressed the main problems faced by workers, including limited access to government services, low wages despite high qualifications, and the desire for improved services. The government responded with the excuse of insufficient funds to meet these demands.

Calls for better social services and healthcare for workers were highlighted in the problems with the Social Security Services (SSS).

The Congress urged SSS to resolve the issue in response to Partido Manggagawa. SSS, however, argued and cited concerns about confidentiality and national security.

Louie Anne Alalayin of the Public Affairs and Special Events Division of SSS explained that having only two personnel under data management is the primary cause for the delays in processing FOI results, advising the public to be more specific with their requests.

The Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) provided information for their climate advocacy but was insufficient in procuring documentation crucial to the energy campaign with unavailable full versions of Power Supply Agreements (PSA) and outdated studies.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) acknowledged its compliance with the FOI policy by making its decisions, orders, and notices available on its official website’s virtual library. They also mentioned confidentiality as the reason for not releasing the full versions of the PSA.

Attorney Aison Garcia stated that the Office of the President requested pertinent documents from the Department of Agrarian Reform for an appeal but didn’t receive a response, causing difficulties for farmers and hindering their access to information.