Daluz pushes for city ordinance on FOI

CEBU, Philippines - Supporting President Duterte's executive order on Freedom of Information, Cebu City Councilor Jose Daluz III proposed an ordinance directing all offices under the city's executive branch to "guarantee the people's right to information."

Under the proposal, the city "adheres and upholds the constitutional right of its people to information through a policy of full public disclosure, transparency and accountability in government official acts, transactions and decisions."

"I think that's good for the city also para nako, ang procedure sa pagpangayo. For example, ang usa ka-citizen, kaning transaction-na, mangayo sya'g copy sa voucher, di na jud maka-deny ang mga officer who is handling the custody of the voucher," said Daluz.

Should his proposal is approved, Daluz said, the Cebu City government shall provide any information to the public as requested.

The ordinance will be named the "Freedom of Information Ordinance of Cebu City" or "FOI Ordinance of Cebu City" once approved.

According to Daluz, they will only prohibit the releasing of information not covered in the law.

"Like for example, ang privacy sa usa ka tao, if there are personal information nga nakuptan sa authority, di s'ya kailangan mo-disclose ana. Ikaduha, kanang mga intelligence report," he said.

"But wa nako gibutang nga exemption; niingon ra ko sa balaod nga tanang provided by the constitution or the law," he added.

The public should also follow the procedures to acquire the desired information, said Daluz.

First, they need to submit a request to the office concerned with their names, contact number and purpose through letter or e-mail. Second is the receiving, in which the request is stamped and all information is verified.

The requesting party should be given an answer as soon as possible or not exceeding seven working days. In this phase, the office will determine if the request will be granted or denied.

The person will be then notified through mail or personally if the information is available or be delayed. The extension will not exceed to 15 working days.

Once a decision to grant or deny the request is arrived at, the person will also be notified by the office.

The legislative body will tackle the proposed ordinance in their next regular session on Tuesday. (FREEMAN)