The newly-elected president of the Republic of the Philippines, Pres. Rody Duterte promised to issue an Executive Order (EO) on Freedom of Information (FOI) which he will start with the Executive Branch of government, but he is not promising to prioritize a law such as what his predecessors have done in the past and ending up with nothing by the end of their terms.
According to Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, he will start his move with the Executive Department, which as president will be fully under him.
In an interview with the media he was quoted as saying “Kung ayaw ng Congress I will start progressively. Para walang satsat, walang yakyak, day one, basta pataas na, huwag na pabalik kasi magulo yan (If Congress refuses to pass such a law, I will start on it progressively. Let’s cut to the chase. From day one, although this will not be retroactive since ordering so will create a very chaotic situation). FOI, I will impose it on my department, executive department,” he told a group of reporters
The 71-year-old Mayor of Davao City said that he sees nothing if the public will scrutinize the executive department’s operations since he has vowed a fight against corruption under his administration. The mayor was quoted “Unahan ko na. I will issue an executive order. All. Hindi na kailangan ng batas,” he said.
The executive order of Pres. Rody Duterte will allow the media for having free access or dig into documents, even without passing a law, but it will cover only the Executive Department because the members of the Congress and Senate are under the Legislative branch, the while members of the Supreme Court comprised the Judicial branch of government.
