PCOO PR
MANILA – Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) has now opened the nominations for its annual FOI Awards, Freedom of Information (FOI) Program Director Assistant Secretary Kris Ablan announced on Thursday.
In an interview, Asec. Ablan discussed that the FOI Awards recognizes outstanding work in promoting open government and the public’s right to know.
“Our FOI Awards is our annual event that aims to recognize those who have helped us in promoting open, transparent, and accountable governance. It is a celebration of our significant gains and progresses of the FOI program in the country,” he said during the Network Briefing News with host PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar.
Qualified nominees must be government offices in the executive branch, including Government-owned and/or- Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), and local water districts.
The nominations are now open until 11 October 2020 and will be conferred on the fourth week of November 2020.
All interested parties may access the digital copy of the nomination form through this link: bit.ly/2020FOIANF
The FOI Awards were pioneered in 2017 following the signing of Executive Order No. 02 by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte a year before.
On its third year in 2019, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) bagged the award for the FOI champion in the National Government Agencies (NGAs) category; Philippine Ports Authority in the GOCCs category; the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in the attached agencies, bureaus, commissions and councils category; and the Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST) as the FOI champion for SUCs.
During the interview, Asec. Ablan said they continue to promote open governance in local government units and SUCs across the country, as he mentioned new members onboard the electronic FOI portal this week.
“This week, we are also happy to announce the onboarding of three agencies in our electronic FOI portal— one (1) local government unit, and two (2) state universities. We welcome the city of Legazpi, Albay, Bicol State College of Applied Sciences and Technology (BISCAST), and the Bataan Peninsula State University (BPSU),” he said.
At present, there are already 490 agencies onboard the eFOI portal, including 4 LGUs. The public may now request information, records, or documents through this digital platform of the government.
According to the FOI program director, the eFOI portal is an innovation that opens and brings closer the services of the government to the people.
