Keep eFOI accessible to public, next admin urged

MANILA – Malacañang on Thursday hoped that President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. will keep the electronic Freedom of Information (eFOI) portal available to the public to promote government transparency and accountability.

This, as acting deputy presidential spokesperson and Communications Undersecretary Michel Kristian “Kris” Ablan said the creation of the eFOI website makes it easier for ordinary citizens to access public documents and information.

Ablan, who concurrently serves as FOI program director, noted that around 100,000 requests for government records have been made since the foi.gov.ph website was launched.

“So, marami pong information na makukuha sa foi.gov.ph.

So, sana po ipagpatuloy ito ni President Marcos at saka ni Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles (So, much information will be taken from foi.gov.ph. We have more or less FOI requests.

So, we hope President-elect Marcos and Press Secretary-designate Trixie Cruz-Angeles will continue its operations),” he said in an interview with ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on July 23, 2016 inked Executive Order (EO) 2, giving the public access to official documents and transactions in all government offices under the executive branch.

EO 2 enables Filipino citizens to ask for any information about government transactions and operations by presenting proof of identity to the concerned state agency or lodging queries online through eFOI website.

The concerned agency must respond to requests within 15 days. It may also ask for an extension to process the request which shall not be longer than 20 working days.

To date, there are 558 participating government agencies onboard the eFOI portal to provide the public with convenience in requesting public