At last, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the executive order on freedom of information (FOI) last Saturday evening, July 23.
People welcomed this new development towards improving transparency and accountability in running the government. Several media groups also lauded Duterte for this move.
However, lawyer Mel Sta. Maria made a close scrutiny of the EO, after quoting that “the devil is in the details,” based on his article posted by TV5 news site InterAksyon.com.
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He pointed out Section 7 as a possible cause of ineffectivity of the FOI order.
“Section 7. Protection of Privacy. While providing access to information, public records and official records, responsible officials shall afford full protection to the right to privacy of the individual as follows:
- Each government office per Section 2 hereof shall ensure that personal information in its custody or under its control is disclosed or released only if it is material or relevant to the subject-matter of the request and its disclosure is permissible under this order or existing law, rules or regulations”
Sta. Maria went on to highlight one “existing law” that was mentioned in Section 7 and that is Republic Act of 10173, also known as the Data Privacy Act of 2012.
As summarized by Sta. Maria, RA 10173 “provides that, as a general rule, the personal information of individuals shall not be revealed and cannot be printed, recorded, used and disseminated by others. This is applicable both to private people and government officials except that, in case of the latter, information can be obtained relating to their positions and functions in the government.”
According to the lawyer, if a citizen claims that a piece of information should be disclosed because of its significance to the country, the National Privacy Commission will still have the power to determine which information will be safe enough for release, with regards to the safety of the country and the public, or how much of that information can be released.
Sta. Maria then drove the point home – “the Data Privacy Act limits freedom of thought and information,” not to mention that it limits the Filipino’s freedom of speech and expression about issues concerning the country if government officials are involved.
This is because the Data Privacy Act also protects the private lives of government officials, which meant that the law can be easily used an excuse by executive officials covered by Duterte’s FOI order not to disclose information.
On top of this law, the Department of Justice and the Office of the Solicitor General were given 30 days since the implementation of the FOI order to enumerate information that will be exempted from disclosure, based on existing “rules and regulations,” so the EO will likely have more “limitations and contingencies,” according to Sta. Maria.
But is there a way to make Duterte’s EO more effective that it is likely going to be?
Sta. Maria suggested amending, or repealing the Data Privacy Act of 2012, where government officials are involved. Otherwise, this law, will “effectively negate” the president’s step towards a transparent and accountable government.
As his closing remark, the lawyer said that it seems Duterte’s EO on FOI was a “toothless ‘show-off’ useless in effecting the citizen’s freedom of information.”
According to his News5 team profile, Sta. Maria has been teaching law for at the Ateneo School of Law since 1986 and wrote his book “Persons and Family Relations Law,” which has been cited by the Supreme Court in several cases and is a required legal textbook. He graduated with honors at the Ateneo Law School, earned his master’s degree at the Boston University School of Law, and finished his internship at the International Commission at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland. Aside from writing for InterAksyon.com’s “Opinion” section, Sta. Maria also serves as one of the anchors of RELAYON with Luchi Cruz Valdes.
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