PEOPLE’S FREEDOM TO INFORMATION MANUAL€¦ · TWD shall not charge any fee for accepting requests for access to information. However, TWD shall charge a reasonable fee to cover

PEOPLE’S FREEDOM TO INFORMATION

MANUAL

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

OVERVIEW:

Statement of Purpose ................................................................................................................. 3

Definition of Terms ..................................................................................................................... 3

Coverage .................................................................................................................................... 3

Access to Information ................................................................................................................. 4

Exceptions to Access of Information ........................................................................................... 4

Protection of Privacy ................................................................................................................... 4

STANDARD PROCEDURE ..................................................................................................................... 5

APPLICABLE FEES ............................................................................................................................... 6

REMEDIES IN CASE OF DENIAL .......................................................................................................... 6

COMMITMENT ........................................................................................................................................ 6

ANNEXES:

ANNEX A. Executive Order (EO) No. 02, S. 2016 on Freedom of Information (FOI) ................. 8

ANNEX B. Data Privacy Act of 2012 (R. A. 10173) ................................................................. 14

ANNEX C. Inventory of Exceptions to EO. No. 2, s. 2016 ....................................................... 28

ANNEX D. Freedom of Information Request Form (FOI-01) ................................................... 39

ANNEX E. Notice of Extension (FOI-02) .................................................................................. 40

ANNEX F. Notice of Denial (FOI-03) ....................................................................................... 41

ANNEX G. Notice of Availability of Request (FOI-04) ............................................................... 42

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OVERVIEW

Statement of Purpose

Tanauan Water District (TWD) provides definitive guidelines to assist the facilitation of the request of information pursuant to Executive Order (EO) no.02 s. 2016 on Freedom of Information (FOI) (Annex A). This manual, also, shall serve to protect privacy of those concerned in compliance to the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (R. A. 10173) (Annex B).

Definition of Terms

For the purpose of this manual, the following terms shall mean:

Information. The EO defines information as “any records, documents, papers, reports, letters, contracts, minutes and transcripts of official meetings, maps, books, photographs, data, research materials, films, sound and video recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data, computer-stored data, or any other like or similar data or materials recorded, stored or archived in whatever format, whether offline or online, which are made, received, or kept in or under the control and custody of any government office pursuant to law, executive order, and rules and regulations or in connection with the performance or transaction of official business by any government office”.

Official record/records. The EO states that official records are “information produced or received by a public officer or employee, or by a government office in an official capacity or pursuant to a public function or duty”.

Public record/records. As defined by the EO, public records “shall include information required by laws, executive orders, rules, or regulations to be entered, kept and made publicly available by a government office”.

FOI Receiving Officer (FRO). The FRO is an administrative personnel who is tasked to receive, log, and keep records of all the incoming documents related to the operations of Tanauan Water District, including requests to access to information.

FOI Decision-Maker. The FOI Decision-Maker is the General Manager of the Tanauan Water District. He/She is tasked to determine whether request for access to information is granted, partially granted, or denied, and decides if extension to respond is necessary for every request made.

FOI Consultant. The FOI Consultant is the personnel responsible to provide the information requested upon issuance of Office Memo from the FOI Decision-Maker. He/She determines the applicable fees to be paid by the requesting party.

Coverage

This manual shall cover all activities pertaining to access of information, from requests to the actions taken, directed to and from the TWD.

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Access to Information

According to the EO, “every Filipino shall have access to information, official records, public records, and documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development”.

Exceptions to Access of Information

The EO states that the “access to information shall be denied when the information falls under any of the exceptions enshrined in the Constitution, existing law or jurisprudence”. The Inventory of Exceptions to EO. No. 2, s. 2016 (Annex C) shall serve as guidance of the Tanauan Water District. In addition, TWD shall deny access to information on the following grounds:

a. The requested information is “Identical or Substantially Similar Request” (EO 02 s. 2016 sec. 11) which states that “the government office shall not be required to act upon an unreasonable subsequent identical or substantially similar request from the same requesting party whose request has already been previously granted or denied by the same government office”.

b. The request of information is subject to the application and interpretation of the Head of the Agency as stated on EO 02 s. 2016 sec.6. It is stated that “the determination of the applicability of any of the exceptions to the request shall be the responsibility of the Head of the Office which has custody or control of the information, public record or official record, or of the responsible central or field officer duly designated by him in writing. In making such determination, the Head of the Office or his designated officer shall exercise reasonable diligence to ensure that no exception shall be used or availed of to deny any request for information or access to public records or official records if the denial is intended primarily and purposely to cover up a crime, wrongdoing, graft or corruption.”

c. The requested information is readily available in the TWD Official Website

(http://www.tanauanwd.gov.ph)

Protection of Privacy

While providing access to information, public records, and official records, TWD shall afford full protection to an individual’s right to privacy as follows (as per EO no. 02 s. 2016):

a. TWD shall ensure that personal information is disclosed or released only if it is material or relevant to the subject matter of the request and is permissible under the existing laws, rules or regulations;

b. TWD must protect personal information by making reasonable security arrangements against leaks or premature disclosure of personal information which unduly exposes the individual whose personal information is requested to vilification, harassment, or any other wrongful acts; and

c. Any employee or official of the TWD who has access, authorized or unauthorized, to personal information must not disclose that information except when authorized under existing laws, rules or regulations.

http://www.tanauanwd.gov.ph/

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STANDARD PROCEDURE

The following step-by step procedure shall govern the activities from filing to the processing of requests for access to information:

1. Requesting party shall submit letter of request addressed to the TWD General Manager through the designated Public Assistance and Complaints Desk (PACD) Officer.

2. The PACD Officer should check and ask for the following: • Name of the requesting party • Contact information • Valid proof of identification • Authorization and valid proof of identity of the original requesting party (if applicable) • Reason or purpose of the request

3. Requesting party shall be required to completely fill-out Freedom of Information Request Form

(FOI-01) (Annex D) in two (2) copies.

4. The PACD Officer checks the forms if they were completely and correctly filled-out, then proceeds to the designated FOI Receiving Officer (FRO).

5. Upon receipt of the letter of request and filled out forms, the designated FRO shall stamp

“RECEIVED” indicating date and time, complete name, signature, and position of receiving officer. A duplicate copy is thereof furnished to the requesting party.

6. The FRO records the same in the FOI Logbook, and attaches routing slip to the received

documents. 7. The FRO endorses the FOI Request Form to the FOI Decision-Maker wherein initial evaluation

of the request is performed. 8. The FOI Decision-Maker determines if the request shall be granted, partially granted, or denied,

as soon as practicable, but not exceeding fifteen (15) working days upon receipt. The period to respond may be extended to, but not beyond twenty (20) working days whenever the information requested requires extensive search of TWD’s record’s facilities, examination of voluminous records, occurrence of fortuitous events or analogous cases. Applicable Notice Forms (FOI-02, Notice of Extension; FOI-03, Notice of Denial) (Annex E and Annex F) shall be prepared by the FOI Decision-Maker and forwarded to PACD Officer who will notify the requesting party.

9. The FOI Decision-Maker shall issue an Office Order directed to the FOI Consultant to whom

data is available. 10. The FOI Consultant prepares all the requested information and fills out the Notice of Availability

of the Request (FOI-04) (Annex G) and forwards this to the PACD Officer.

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11. The PACD Officer notifies the requesting party and directs to pay the applicable minimal fees. 12. Release of the documents requested.

Each concerned employee shall establish a system to trace the status of all requests by affixing his/her signature and supplying all data required on the attached routing slip, and should record this on his/her own official logbook, pursuant to Section 9c of the EO no.02, s. 2016.

APPLICABLE FEES

TWD shall not charge any fee for accepting requests for access to information. However, TWD shall charge a reasonable fee to cover the necessary costs, including the actual costs of the reproduced information (Section 10 of the EO no. 02, s. 2016).

REMEDIES IN CASE OF DENIAL

Section 13 of the EO no. 02 s. 2016 clearly states that a person whose request for access to information has been denied may avail himself of the remedies set forth by filing a written appeal fifteen (15) calendar days from the notice of denial or from the lapse of the relevant period to respond to the request. This can be brought up to the TWD Board of Directors or any government office higher in authority to TWD. Upon exhaustion of administrative appeal remedies, the appealing party may file the appropriate judicial action in accordance with the Rules of Court.

COMMITMENT

The Tanauan Water District hereby commits to adhere with this manual upon its effectivity and promise to abide by the implementing rules and regulations stipulated on the Executive Order No. 2, Series of 2016, all for the full disclosure and transparency in the public service.

FELICIANA V. SUMAGUE General Manager

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ANNEXES

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ANNEX A. Executive Order (EO) No. 02, S. 2016 on Freedom of Information (FOI)

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ANNEX B. Data Privacy Act of 2012 (R. A. 10173)

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ANNEX C. Inventory of Exceptions to EO. No. 2, s. 2016

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ANNEX D. Freedom of Information Request Form (FOI-01)

Republic of the PhilippinesTANAUAN WATER DISTRICTPres. Jose P. Laurel Highway, Tanauan City, Batangas 4232tanauanwd.gov.ph(043) 778-1155, (043) 405-2056

ATTENDED BY:

GRANTED

PARTIALLY GRANTED

DENIED

REMARKS:

ELECTRONIC

signature over printed name of requesting party date signed

FOI-01 REV00 29JAN2018

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST FORM

NAME OF REQUESTING PARTY:ADDRESS:CONTACT NUMBER:

DATE AND TIME FILED:

INFORMATION REQUESTED:

PURPOSE OF REQUEST :

( please accomplish a separate form for each request)

AGREEMENT: It is hereby agreed upon that Tanauan Water District must respond to my request within fifteen (15) working days after it is received. TWD may grant or deny all or a portion of my request, or issue a notice of extension not beyond twenty (20) working days. I agree that this duration is a reasonable time to process my request. Should the record/s and/or information requested be used other than what is stated above I shall be legally held liable.

PRINTED

(Signature over printed name of FOI Decision-Maker)

(date)

(to be filled out by the FOI Decision-Maker)

date signedsignature over printed name of PACD Officer

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ANNEX E. Notice of Extension (FOI-02)


DATE:

TO:

RE:

Sir/Madam:

other reason (please specify)

Yours in public service,


NOTICE OF EXTENSION

occurrence of fortuitous events or analogous cases

(signature over printed name of FOI Decision-Maker)

(date signed)

This is to notify you that we are extending our period to respond by twenty (20) more d following reasons:

information requested requires extensive research within our records facilities

examination of voluminous records

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ANNEX F. Notice of Denial (FOI-03)


DATE:

TO:

RE:

Sir/Madam:Upon review of the request you made as stated on the FOI-01 dated last _____________________,it was determined that the documents are exempt from disclosure based on the following reasons:

Requested information is readily available in our official website

Identical or substantially similar request (EO 2 s.. 2015 sec. 11).

Protection of privacy (EO 2 s. 2015 sec. 7)

other reason (please specify)

Please understand that we have exhausted all possibilities to grant your request. You may, however,appeal to higher authorities fifteen (15) days upon receipt of this notice.



(date signed)


NOTICE OF DENIAL

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ANNEX G. Notice of Availability of Request (FOI-04)


DATE:

TO:

RE:

Sir/Madam:

Please be notified that your requested information is now available for pick-up during office hours,

Thank you very much and it has been a pleasure serving you.



(date signed)

Mondays to Fridays, 8:00am to 5:00pm. Please prepare a minimal fee of __________ to cover


NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF REQUEST

the reproduction cost of the documents.

Documents

PEOPLE’S FREEDOM TO INFORMATION MANUAL€¦ · TWD shall not charge any fee for accepting requests for access to information. However, TWD shall charge a reasonable fee to cover