MANILA - It's time to have an all-encompassing Freedom of Information (FOI) mechanism in the Philippines, a Palace official said Thursday as he renewed his call for Congress to pass a FOI Bill before the term of President Rodrigo Duterte ends. In a prerecorded video message during the FOI Awards, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar urged lawmakers to prioritize the passage of the FOI Bill, which mandates full disclosure of official public records from offices under the Executive Branch. "On behalf of PCOO, I am one with the FOI-[Project Management Office] in pushing for the passage of the FOI Bill. We owe it to the Filipino people to have an all-encompassing FOI mechanism in the country. I appeal to our lawmakers to double the time and effort in making the change happen before the end of this administration," Andanar said. He said is hoping that FOI will be implemented across all branches of government and down to the local govern
MANILA - It's time to have an all-encompassing Freedom of Information (FOI) mechanism in the Philippines, a Palace official said Thursday as he renewed his call for Congress to pass a FOI Bill before the term of President Rodrigo Duterte ends. In a prerecorded video message during the FOI Awards, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar urged lawmakers to prioritize the passage of the FOI Bill, which mandates full disclosure of official public records from offices under the Executive Branch. "On behalf of PCOO, I am one with the FOI-[Project Management Office] in pushing for the passage of the FOI Bill. We owe it to the Filipino people to have an all-encompassing FOI mechanism in the country. I appeal to our lawmakers to double the time and effort in making the change happen before the end of this administration," Andanar said. He said is hoping that FOI will be implemented across all branches of government and down to the local govern