The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) was elevated to the Hall of Fame for winning the Freedom of Information (FOI) Champion Award for three consecutive years under the Agency Category conferred by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).
The FOI Awards is an annual event which aims to recognize the remarkable contributions of government offices in the executive branch, including government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), and local water districts (LWDs), to the development and progress of the PCOO’s FOI program.
MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim, together with the agency’s FOI Committee, accepted the award bestowed by PCOO Secretary Jose Ruperto Martin Andanar and FOI Program Director Assistant Secretary Kris Ablan at the 2020 FOI Awards yesterday, November 25, held at the ASEAN Theater at the Philippine Information Agency in Diliman, Quezon City.
“We are humbled to be one of the first-ever agencies to receive the Hall of Fame Award for being the FOI Champion for three straight years now. The recognitions we have received will serve as additional motivation to continue the work that we do for the people. Maraming-maraming salamat sa patuloy na pagkilala sa MMDA,” Lim said in his acceptance speech.
“As long as I am in MMDA, FOI will remain a priority of the Agency. I believe that the government must actively promote transparency and citizen empowerment through open access to information,” he further said.
Lim also acknowledged PCOO’s earnest effort to provide the public much needed information especially during this pandemic.
“We recognize the efforts of the PCOO to continuously oversee and manage the implementation of the FOI program across government agencies,” Lim underscored.
Aside from the Hall of Fame and FOI Champion Awards, the MMDA also received a plaque of recognition for being one of the top requested and performing agencies onboard the eFOI portal.
Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer Mary Ann Tanbio of the MMDA Public Affairs Staff-Public Information Office also bagged the Best FOI Receiving Officer Award for the second time.
PCOO is the lead agency in the implementation of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No. 2 which operationalizes the Constitutional mandate of the People’s Right to Information.
