MANILA - The newly signed executive order on freedom of information (FOI) was put to a test as one of the petitioners against the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) requested for related documents from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
The FOI EO mandates agencies under the executive branch to grant the Filipino public access to information, official records, and documents pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions.
Defeated senatorial candidate Greco Belgica, who supported President Rodrigo Duterte in the 2016 elections, went to the DBM and filed a letter requesting for documents relating to the previous government's DAP allocations from 2011 to 2016.
These include a list of DAP-funded programs and projects, their proponents from both houses of Congress, the amounts disbursed, the beneficiaries, and the manner in which the funds were reportedly spent.
In 2014, the Supreme Court (SC) declared portions of the DAP unconstitutional.
In his letter, Belgica said that he made the request in line with President Rodrigo Duterte's directive for full public disclosure of information, and that the mode of spending DAP funds involves public interest.
The request letter was received by the DBM's records section, scanned, and uploaded to the document management system.
The DBM said the request will be evaluated by the legal department on whether or not the information requested falls under the exceptions provided by the 1987 Constitution.
If it does, then access to information will be denied. If it doesn't, the DBM will route the request to the concerned bureau or office.
The EO gives agencies 15 days to comply with the request for information.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said, because of the volume of information Belgica is requesting, response to his request may take time. But he assured the department will provide it.
Belgica said he tried to request for the same documents from the DBM under the previous administration, but received no feedback.
This time, he is more optimistic that the documents from the DBM will help build the case he filed before the Ombudsman against the DAP.
Belgica said guarding public funds will be easier if Congress will pass the FOI bill.