Philippines Budget Secretary wants louder calls for FOI law

The article highlights a critical push to enact a comprehensive Freedom of Information law in the Philippines, emphasizing that while constitutional rights exist, the lack of enabling legislation leaves the public’s access to information incomplete. Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman urges the incoming Congress to prioritize this measure, arguing that a statutory framework is essential to truly uphold transparency and combat corruption. This legislative gap has historically hindered full accountability, despite decades of advocacy from civil society and lawmakers since the 1980s. Progress toward open data is evident through recent executive actions and local ordinances, such as the New Government Procurement Act and widespread municipal FOI policies. These initiatives demonstrate that open government principles are shifting from theoretical commitments to practical applications in public planning and spending. The Philippines’ improved standing in global fiscal transparency and press freedom indexes reflects these strides, showing that bottom-up reforms and administrative directives can effectively embed openness into governance structures even before a national law is finalized. This development is highly relevant to open data because it underscores the tension between voluntary executive transparency and mandatory legal rights. While current efforts improve data availability, a formal FOI law would provide a robust, enforceable mechanism for citizens and researchers to access government records systematically. Sustaining the momentum behind open data initiatives requires converting these incremental administrative gains into a permanent legislative foundation, ensuring that transparency is not dependent on shifting political directives but is instead guaranteed as a fundamental democratic right.

Source: thestar.com.my
Published on 2025-05-26

Philippines Budget Secretary wants louder calls for FOI law

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