MANILA — The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on Wednesday announced that 381 government agencies have complied with the Freedom of Information (FOI) requirements for the grant of performance-based bonus (PBB).
As of Dec. 29, 2017, the PCOO said 160 out of 189 national government agencies, 79 out of 144 government-owned-and/or-controlled corporations, 19 out of 113 state universities and colleges, and 123 out of 441 local water districts have uploaded their FOI manuals in their websites.
The executive order on FOI requires all offices under the executive branch to disclose details of their transactions, covering official records, public records, and documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions, and government research data used as basis for policy formulation.
Communications Assistant Secretary Kristian Ablan urged non-compliant state agencies to follow the directive and upload their FOI manuals, otherwise they would not receive their 2017 PBB.
In a memo signed by Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno last Dec. 21, 2017, agencies were given a month to remedy their deficiencies before the release of a final “non-compliant list” on Jan. 31, 2018.
To be considered compliant, government agencies are required to upload their corresponding FOI manuals in their websites through the “transparency seal.”
The publication of manuals is considered a criteria for good governance conditions aligned with empowering citizens with access to government information.
The initiative was led by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Harmonization of National Government Performance Monitoring, Information and Reporting Systems — a group mandated to harmonize the national government performance monitoring and information system to raise transparency and accountability in governance through Administrative Order No. 25 s. 2011.
Non-compliance with any of the good governance conditions will render the entire agency ineligible for the PBB. (PNA)
