Kyu, Eduard Aung Jr. Colod B.S.

Social Work 2 Social Work 17- Social Ecology 3:00pm-4:30pm, Daily, Summer Term of 2011 Room 407, Waldo Perfecto Bldg., Saint Louis University, Bonifacio St., Baguio City

A POLICY ON OBLIGATORY-TRANSPARENCY FOR PUBLIC OFFICES PERTAINING TO MATTERS CONCERNING PUBLIC INTEREST IN ACCORDANCE TO THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO INFORMATION GUARANTEED UNDER SECTION SEVEN, ARTICLE THREE OF THE 1987 CONSTITUTION AND THE STATE POLICY OF FULL PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF ALL ITS TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING UNDER SECTION TWENTY EIGHT, ARTICLE TWO OF THE 1987 CONSTITUTION.

INTRODUCTION Every nation had always desired for an certain utopia wherein the ideals and aspirations of its people are the fore-corners of structuring the foundations of its established society built through a social order which is manifested in the creation of a government which becomes the primary agency to the fulfillment of the principles and values that binds the people to form a society. The Philippine is a nation that is democratic and republican wherein sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them as stated in Article II, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution whereas such declaration of principles and state policies must be observed and protected with all efficiency in its implementation in the land where such nation is established. Democracy brought the principle of the equality to all persons in the observation of social justice and human rights. Social Justice believes in a fair, equitable, and considerate system for all persons in the society eliminating all forms of inequity and oppression. Human Rights believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all persons that brought forth several rights and obligations to create an atmosphere that secures the fundamental rights of persons such as the observance of freedom, justice, self-determination, a high quality of life and equity. The State as democratic and republican has the duty to set these principles in its mode of development and operations. It therein stated in Article II, Section 9 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution that The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all. As well as Article II, Section 10 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which states that The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national development.

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Kyu, Eduard Aung Jr. Colod B.S. Social Work 2 Social Work 17- Social Ecology 3:00pm-4:30pm, Daily, Summer Term of 2011 Room 407, Waldo Perfecto Bldg., Saint Louis University, Bonifacio St., Baguio City

The government owned by the people is hereby stated as public office which brought the principle that Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives. Stated in Article XI, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution wherein transparency is demanded as an assurance to such principles fulfillment.

In the present, the government had lacked transparency in its agendas and was unable to fulfill the basic foundations of its ideology which is democracy that caused negative effects to the social order of the people in the land. The people lost their confidence to the government and brought forth the concept of being in a state of survival along with materialism, and capitalism. Graft and corruption emerged, the alienation of different sectors aroused, inequity was prominent in the distribution of resources, economic distress became worst, and self-interest was over public interest. In order for us to address these problems, the State shall maintain honesty and integrity in public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption as stated in Article II, Section 27 of the1987 Philippine Constitution wherein transparency is one of the indicators of its observance and implementation.

In order for transparency to be in full effect, the State recognizes the vital role of communication and information in nation-building. (Article II, Section 24 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution) wherein the core provisions of this Obligatory-Transparency Policy is rooted in Article III, Section 7 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which states The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records and to documents, and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law. And Article II, Section 28 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, stating that Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law, the State adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest.

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Kyu, Eduard Aung Jr. Colod B.S. Social Work 2 Social Work 17- Social Ecology 3:00pm-4:30pm, Daily, Summer Term of 2011 Room 407, Waldo Perfecto Bldg., Saint Louis University, Bonifacio St., Baguio City

Transparency shall then be the primary tool that would implement the constitutional right of the people to their right to access on necessary information to be acquired by the people which is held by the government thus the provisions of the fundamental law of the land supplements itself giving us the taught that information is the currency of democracy and without the proper information in the side of the people they are unable to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the administration of the government, hence, being armed with the right information, the citizens can participate in public discussions leading to the formulation of government policies and their effective implementation. An informed citizenry is essential to the existence and proper functioning of real democracy.

The objective of this policy is to increase the awareness of the people in public concerns for a higher percentage of participatory democracy in the governments operations as well as to lessen if not totally eliminate graft and corruption practices in order to move forward towards sustainable development.

BODY Obligatory-Transparency shall recognize the right of the people to have full and unrestricted access to information in its custody or control, and to implement full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest, subject only to exceptions provided by law. Obligatory-Transparency shall cover all government agencies, which include any executive, legislative, judicial, or constitutional body of the Republic of the Philippines, local government units, including but not limited to the national government and all its departments, bureaus, offices, and instrumentalities; local governments and all their agencies; national or local commissions, boards, or bodies exercising governmental functions; regulatory agencies; chartered institutions; government-owned or controlled corporations; the constitutional commissions and' all other constitutionally-mandated bodies; the Congress of the Philippines and all the committees and offices therein, including the offices of the Senators and Members of the House of Representatives; and the Supreme Court and such lower courts as may be established by law. Obligatory-Transparency shall mandate government bodies to maintain the manner of keeping its records observing the peoples constitutional right to information.

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Kyu, Eduard Aung Jr. Colod B.S. Social Work 2 Social Work 17- Social Ecology 3:00pm-4:30pm, Daily, Summer Term of 2011 Room 407, Waldo Perfecto Bldg., Saint Louis University, Bonifacio St., Baguio City

Obligatory-Transparency shall require government bodies to create guidelines that would ensure the accessibility of information for public awareness, inspection, copying or reproduction of all information and records thereof in its custody of under its control which includes but not limited to: Acts of Public Offices in pursuit to their functions; judicial, quasi-judicial, and policies decisions of public offices, boards, commissions, and tribunals; transactions, contracts, agreements including definite propositions of the government agencies pertaining to their roles; government research data as a basis for policy development; And writings and communications coming into the hands of public officers in connection with their official functions. Obligatory-Transparency shall mandate the disclosure of transactions involving public interestAll government agencies shall publish all the steps, negotiations and key government positions pertaining to definite propositions of the government, as well as the contents of the contract, agreement or treaty in the following transactions involving public interest: (1) Compromise agreements entered into by a government agency with any person or entity involving any waiver or its rights or claims; (2)Private sector participation agreements or contracts in infrastructure and development projects under Republic Act No. 6957, as amended by Republic Act No. 7718, authorizing the financing, construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure projects by the private sector; (3)Procurement contracts entered into by a government agency; (4) Construction or concession agreements or contracts entered into by a government agency with any domestic or foreign person or entity; (5) Loans, grants, development assistance, technical assistance and programs entered into by a government agency with official bilateral or multilateral agencies, as well as with private aid agencies or institutions; (6) Loans from domestic and foreign financial institutions; Guarantees given by any government agency to government owned or controlled corporations and to private corporations, persons or entities; (7) Public funding extended to any private entity; (8) Bilateral or multilateral agreements and treaties in defense, trade, economic partnership, investments, cooperation and similar binding commitments; and/ or (9) Licenses, permits or agreements given by any government agency to any person or entity for the extraction and/or utilization of natural resources. Obligatory-Transparency shall involve information on public health, public safety, and environment.

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Kyu, Eduard Aung Jr. Colod B.S. Social Work 2 Social Work 17- Social Ecology 3:00pm-4:30pm, Daily, Summer Term of 2011 Room 407, Waldo Perfecto Bldg., Saint Louis University, Bonifacio St., Baguio City

Obligatory-Transparency may be denied when: A. Revelation of the information will create a clear and present danger of war, invasion or any external threat to the State as determined by the Office of the President and/or the Secretary of the Department of National Defense: Provided, That the courts may, upon complaint by any citizen, inquire into the sufficiency of the factual basis for such determination; B. The information pertains to the positions of the Republic of the Philippines in an ongoing negotiation for a bilateral or multilateral agreement or treaty, when its revelation would unduly weaken the position of the Philippines in such negotiation, or pertains to another sovereign state, when its revelation would seriously jeopardize diplomatic relations with said state; C. The information pertains to internal and external defense and law enforcement, when the revelation thereof would render a legitimate military operation ineffective, unduly compromise the prevention, detection or suppression of a criminal activity, or endanger the life or physical safety of confidential or protected sources or witnesses, law enforcement and military personnel or their immediate families; D. The information pertains to the personal information of a natural person and its disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of his or her personal privacy, unless it forms part of a public record, or the person was an official of a government agency and the information relates to his or her public function; E. The information pertains to trade, industrial, financial or commercial secrets of a natural or juridical person, obtained in confidence by a government agency, whenever the revelation thereof would seriously prejudice the interests of such natural or juridical person in trade, industrial, financial or commercial competition, unless such natural or juridical person has consented to the disclosure of the information: F. The information is privileged from production in legal proceedings by law or by the Rules of Court, unless the person entitled to the privilege has waived it; G. The information is exempted by law, in addition to those provided in this section: H. The information consists of drafts of decisions of any judicial body in the exercise of its judicial functions, whenever the revelation thereof would reasonably tend to impair the impartiality of verdicts, or otherwise obstruct the administration of justice. I. The information is obtained by any committee of either House of Congress in executive session.

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Kyu, Eduard Aung Jr. Colod B.S. Social Work 2 Social Work 17- Social Ecology 3:00pm-4:30pm, Daily, Summer Term of 2011 Room 407, Waldo Perfecto Bldg., Saint Louis University, Bonifacio St., Baguio City

Obligatory-Transparency shall penalize all public officials and employees the penalty of imprisonment of not less than one month but not more than six (6) months, with the accessory penalty of suspension from office for the same duration, shall be imposed upon: A. Any public officer or employee responsible for officially acting on the request, who shall: (1) Knowingly deny the existence of existing information; (2) Destroy information being requested for the purpose of frustrating the requesting party's access thereto; (3)Refuse to comply with the decision of his immediate supervisor; the Ombudsman or the Court ordering the release of information that is not restrained or enjoined by a Court; B. The head of office of the government agency directly and principally responsible for the negotiation and perfection of any of the transactions enumerated of this policy, who shall fail to direct the mandatory posting or uploading of such transaction; C. Any public officer who formulates policies, rules and regulations manifestly contrary to the provisions of this policy, and which policies, rules and regulations are the direct causes of the denial of a request for information.

CONCLUSION After the implementation of this policy wherein transparency is secured for the public pertaining to public interest the expected outcomes are the following: 1. The reduction of graft and corruption is expected since transactions shall be known to the public where public screening may be obtained; 2. The principle of Pubic Trust may be attained which would eventually gain the respect and trust of the people to the government; 3. The citizens awareness on public matters shall increase resulting to more public participation on governments operations that seeks participation of the aforementioned citizens; 4. Participatory Democracy, hence, will increase through more public collaboration, coordination, and cooperation in response to public concerns; and 5. Development of plans, strategies, policies, regulations, laws, state principles, and activities shall be enacted to a higher number of participants in the peoples consensus. Sustainable Development can only be obtained if we address the flaws in the present system pertaining to its administrative functions. It is important that the primary agency, that would initiate the movement towards sustainable development, performs in its most efficient level thus eliminating possible barriers to attain such efficiency in public service. I, therefore, advocate the implementation of the Obligatory-Transparency Policy for Public Offices concerning to Public Interest.

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Kyu, Eduard Aung Jr. Colod B.S. Social Work 2 Social Work 17- Social Ecology 3:00pm-4:30pm, Daily, Summer Term of 2011 Room 407, Waldo Perfecto Bldg., Saint Louis University, Bonifacio St., Baguio City

List of References: The 1987 Philippine Constitution Senate Bill No. 3273, 14th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines, Second Regular Session

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