PRESIDENT Duterte will soon sign the executive order (EO) that allows freedom of information over government transactions in the Executive branch.
Duterte said the draft of the EO has been submitted to him after consultations between the Presidential Communications Operations Office and various media groups.
“I have decided to hurry up the process. I have the copy of the draft, this is the one, the executive order on freedom of information,” Duterte said late on Thursday.
The EO will put into operation in the Executive branch the people’s constitutional right to information and the Duterte administration’s policy of full public disclosure and transparency in public service.
Duterte said the EO will only cover transactions in the Executive branch, and it is up to Congress to pass the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill pending before it to enforce the right to information in the two other branches of the government.
“Now, first, I would like to remind everybody that I can only mind the Executive department, my branch of government. I cannot mind the other two, the Judiciary and Congress, because of the separation of powers. But it is up to Congress also if they want that they can file and/or maybe come up with a copy of the FOI law,” he said.
During the campaign, Duterte vowed to prioritize the EO that will allow freedom of information, since the bills pending before Congress were not passed by the Liberal Party-led Congress under former President Benigno S. Aquino III. He said the EO will be signed and released next week at the latest.
“So, this will be implemented, at the very least, next week. This was just submitted to me after the Cabinet meeting, and I have to review it personally,” he said.