The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) outlined the Philippine government’s initiatives to promote transparency and accountability during the 2022 Transparency Roadshow held in Victoriano J. Rodriguez Hall, Capitol Compound, Puerto Princesa City last March 15.
According to Atty. Kristian Ablan, PCOO undersecretary and Freedom of Information (FOI) program director, the Transparency Roadshow aims to inform and engage representatives from the national and local governments, civil society, academe, media and the general public on the rules on Freedom of Information (FOI) that will increase reportage of corruption as it will facilitate the right of access to governmental information.
“Ginagawa namin ito to build trust between the government and the citizens in order to deliver efficient and effective services, also to promote transparency and accountability in the public sector,” said Usec. Ablan.
The Provincial Government of Palawan previously approved Provincial Ordinance No. 2415, series 2020 wherein the citizens of Palawan can now access information, official and public records under the custody of the province and municipalities, as part of the province’s effort towards good governance.
Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary Achilles Gerard Bravo of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) discussed the Devolution Transition Plan focusing in the Mandanas Ruling, while DPWH Director Andro Santiago shared information about the GIS Web Application.
Mabelline Cahulogan, Supervising Science Research Specialist of DOST-PHIVOLCS explained the concept of GeoRiskPH which is to provide protocols and platforms to share hazards, exposure and other risk information to help people, local governments, and national agencies prepare and plan how to reduce the risks from natural hazards.
“One of the objectives of GeoRiskPH is to support the country’s resiliency against natural hazards and risks. And the system is to make such hazard-related information available to everyone.”
At the same time, PCOO and the Palawan State University through its President Dr. Ramon Docto signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for their implementation of freedom of information (FOI) programs in the university.
For the academe, this translated to wider and more open access to information that could be utilized for academic research.
