PCOO engages SUCs, water districts gov’t agencies in FOI consultation

BAGUIO CITY --- In response to the call for transparency and full public disclosure of information, the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) came up with various initiatives to capacitate agencies covered by Executive Order no.2 series of 2016, promoting among others, the people’s constitutional right to information.

One of these efforts is the recently conducted 2019 Freedom of Information (FOI) Compliance Consultation and Workshop held Nov. 18 and 19 at Hotel Elizabeth Baguio, Benguet.

In support of order for the Freedom of Information (FOI) order signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in July 23, 2016, those on board which include all agencies, departments, bureaus, offices and instrumentalities of the Executive Branch, including Government-Owned and/or Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) are directed to implement the FOI program.

On Nov. 18, Monday, 116 participants from SUCs and local water districts attended the consultation. On Nov. 19, Tuesday, it was the turn of representatives or FOI officers coming from regional offices of government agencies and other instrumentalities to explore opportunities on how to deepen their engagement with the stakeholders.

PCOO FOI Monitoring Division Chief Darlene Mendoza warmly welcomed the participants and thanked them for diligently implementing the FOI in their respective agencies.

“This year, the FOI through the Project Management Office (PMO) envisions to further strengthen the program thru various initiatives. We will start with the review of existing policies. We will also work to improve the eFOI portal and intensify our capacity building activities. We also recognize the valuable role of FOI Receiving officers as front-liners in ensuring the success of the FOI program implementation,” Mendoza said.

Participants listened to various discussions regarding the provisions of FOI manual as discussed by Atty. Tristan De Guzman, Policy, Planning, and Support Division (PPSD) Chief of the Freedom of Information Office. FOI officers were also given a chance to raise queries and share the various challenges regarding the FOI implementation.

The attendees were also taught how to accomplish the FOI reports, agency information inventory, FOI registry and FOI Summary Sheet. The FOI program criteria and validation process for the eligibility to Fiscal Year 2019 Performance-Based Bonus (PBB) was one of the highlights of the confab.