Constitutional policy and governing framework
- Article II of the Constitution provides that the State adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all transactions involving public interest, subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law (recitals).
- Section 7, Article III of the Constitution guarantees the right of the people to information on matters of public concern (recitals).
- The Executive Branch recognizes the need to operationalize these constitutional provisions to enhance transparency and accountability in government official acts, transactions, or decisions (recitals).
- The Executive Order directs observance within the Executive Branch while accounting for privacy protections, referencing Republic Act No. 10173 (Data Privacy Act of 2012) and its implementing rules (recitals).
Coverage: who and what offices are covered
- The Executive Order covers all government offices under the Executive Branch, including national government offices, departments, bureaus, offices, and instrumentalities (Section 2).
- Coverage extends to government-owned or -controlled corporations and state universities and colleges (Section 2).
- Local government units (LGUs) are encouraged to observe and be guided by the Order (Section 2).
- Every Filipino is entitled to access to information under the Executive Order (Section 3).
Core definitions of “information” and records
- “Information” covers any records, documents, papers, reports, letters, contracts, minutes and transcripts of official meetings, maps, books, photographs, data, research materials, films, sound and video recording, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data, computer-stored data, and other like or similar data or materials recorded, stored, or archived in any format—whether offline or online—when made, received, or kept in or under the control and custody of a government office pursuant to law, executive order, rules, and regulations, or in connection with official business (Section 1(a)).
- “Official record/records” means information produced or received by a public officer or employee, or by a government office in an official capacity or pursuant to a public function or duty (Section 1(b)).
- “Public record/records” includes information required by laws, executive orders, rules, or regulations to be entered, kept, and made publicly available by a government office (Section 1(c)).
Right to access and exception inventory
- Every Filipino has access to information, official records, public records, and documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, including government research data used as basis for policy development (Section 3).
- Access is denied only when the information falls under exceptions enshrined in the Constitution, existing law, or jurisprudence (Section 4).
- The Department of Justice and the Office of the Solicitor General must prepare an inventory of such exceptions and submit it to the Office of the President within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of effectivity of the Executive Order (Section 4).
- The Office of the President must immediately circularize the inventory for guidance of covered government offices and the general public (Section 4).
- The exception inventory must be periodically updated to reflect changes in law and jurisprudence, and the Department of Justice and Office of the Solicitor General must update it as need arises for further circularization (Section 4).
Presumption of access and duties of decision-makers
- A legal presumption exists in favor of access to information, public records, and official records (Section 6).
- A request shall not be denied unless it clearly falls under an exception contained in the inventory or updated inventory circularized by the Office of the President (Section 6).
- The determination of whether an exception applies is the responsibility of the Head of the Office in custody or control of the information, or a responsible central or field officer duly designated in writing (Section 6).
- Decision-makers must exercise reasonable diligence to ensure that exceptions are not used to cover up crime, wrongdoing, graft, or corruption (Section 6).
Privacy protection rules
- Responsible officials must afford full protection to the right to privacy while providing access (Section 7).
- A government office must disclose or release personal information only if disclosure is material or relevant to the subject-matter of the request and is permissible under the Executive Order or existing law, rules, or regulations (Section 7(a)).
- Each government office must protect personal information by making reasonable security arrangements against leaks or premature disclosure that unduly exposes the individual to vilification, harassment, or any other wrongful acts (Section 7(b)).
- Any employee, official, or director with access (authorized or unauthorized) to personal information must not disclose that information except when authorized under the Executive Order or pursuant to existing laws, rules, or regulations (Section 7(c)).
FOI Manual and fee schedule
- Each government office must prepare its own People’s FOI Manual within ninety (90) calendar days from the Executive Order’s effectivity (Section 8).
- The FOI Manual must include:
- The location and contact information of the head, regional, provincial, and field offices, and other established places where the public can obtain information or submit requests (Section 8(a)).
- The person or office responsible for receiving requests for information (Section 8(b)).
- The procedure for filing and processing requests as governed in the succeeding section on procedure (Section 8(c)).
- Standard forms for submission of requests and for proper acknowledgment of requests (Section 8(d)).
- The process for disposition of requests (Section 8(e)).
- The procedure for the administrative appeal of any denial for access to information (Section 8(f)).
- A schedule of applicable fees (Section 8(g)).
Request procedure, timelines, and notice
- Requests must be written and submitted to the government office concerned; the request must state:
- the name and contact information of the requesting party,
- valid proof of identification or authorization,
- a reasonable description of the information requested, and
- the reason for or purpose of the request (Section 9(a)).
- No request shall be denied or refused acceptance unless the reason for the request is contrary to law, existing rules and regulations, or it falls within an exception in the inventory or updated inventory (Section 9(a)).
- The receiving public official must provide reasonable assistance free of charge, particularly to enable compliance by requesting parties with special needs (Section 9(b)).
- The government office must stamp the request indicating date and time of receipt, and the name, rank, title, and position of the receiving public officer or employee, with signature; it must furnish a copy to the requesting party (Section 9(c)).
- Each government office must establish a system to trace the status of all requests received (Section 9(c)).
- The government office must respond to a fully compliant request as soon as practicable but not exceeding fifteen (15) working days from receipt; the response is the decision to grant or deny access (Section 9(d)).
- The response period may be extended when extensive search, examination of voluminous records, fortuitous cases, or other analogous cases require it; the office must notify the requester of the extension, set forth reasons, and ensure the extension does not exceed twenty (20) working days unless exceptional circumstances warrant longer (Section 9(e)).
- If access is granted, the requester must be notified and directed to pay any applicable fees (Section 9(f)).
Fee rules and limits
- Government offices must not charge any fee for accepting requests for access to information (Section 10).
- Government offices may charge a reasonable fee to reimburse necessary costs, including actual costs of reproduction and copying, subject to existing rules and regulations (Section 10).
- Fees must never be so onerous as to defeat the purpose of the Executive Order (Section 10).
Limits on subsequent repetitive requests
- A government office is not required to act upon an unreasonable subsequent identical or substantially similar request from the same requesting party if the earlier request from the same party was already previously granted or denied by the same office (Section 11).
Denial notice and deemed denial
- If the request is denied (in whole or in part), the government office must notify the requester as soon as practicable, in any case within fifteen (15) working days from receipt (Section 12).
- The written notice of denial must clearly set forth the ground or grounds for denial and the circumstances on which denial is based (Section 12).
- Failure to notify within the fifteen (15) working days period is deemed a denial of the request (Section 12).
Administrative appeal and judicial remedy
- Denial of a request may be appealed to the person or office next higher in authority, following the administrative appeal procedure reflected in the FOI Manual mandate (Section 13(a)).
- The written appeal must be filed by the same requesting party within fifteen (15) calendar days from the notice of denial or from the lapse of the relevant period to respond (Section 13(a)).
- The appeal must be decided by the next higher authority within thirty (30) working days from filing (Section 13(b)).
- Failure to decide within thirty (30) working days is deemed a denial of the appeal (Section 13(b)).
- After exhaustion of administrative appeal remedies, the requester may file the appropriate case in proper courts in accordance with the Rules of Court (Section 13(c)).
Records management and administrative liability
- Government offices must create and/or maintain accurate and reasonably complete records of important information in appropriate formats, and must implement a records management system that facilitates easy identification, retrieval, and communication of information to the public, subject to existing laws, rules, and regulations (Section 14).
- Failure to comply with the Executive Order may be a ground for administrative and disciplinary sanctions against any erring public officer or employee under existing laws or regulations (Section 15).
Implementing details, separability, and repeal
- All Executive Branch government offices must formulate their respective implementing details within one hundred twenty (120) days from effectivity, taking into account their mandates and the nature of information in their custody or control (Section 16).
- If any section or part is held unconstitutional or invalid, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect (Section 17).
- Inconsistent orders, rules, regulations, and issuances are repealed, amended, or modified accordingly, except that the provisions of Memorandum Circular No. 78 (s. 1964), as amended are not deemed repealed pending farther review (Section 18).