Communications Office ordered to implement EO on FOI

MANILA - The Office of the President has assigned the Presidential Communications Operations Office as the lead agency to implement Executive Order No. 2 on freedom of information (FOI).

Per Memorandum Order no. 10, the agency is tasked to monitor compliance and develop programs and mechanisms to enhance the capability of agencies in complying with FOI programs.

It was also directed to conduct and facilitate capacity and institutional building programs for government agencies.

The EO, which took effect late November last year, provides for full disclosure of government records and transactions. The order covers departments and line agencies under the executive branch, including government-owned and -controlled corporations and state universities.

• READ: Malacañang on FOI implementation: So far, so good

It lists only nine exemptions, trimmed from the original 166, which are "recognized by the Constitution, existing laws or jurisprudence."

• LOOK: The 10 bureaucrats you meet when there is no FOI

Find out why the FOI is important in this video by the Institute for Freedom of Information Philippines:

-- With reports from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News