FOSS AND FOI BILLStatus and Ways Forward

Software Freedom Day 2016October 8, 2016

University of the Philippines - Diliman

GOOD NEWS!Una sa lahat,

May EO on FOIPinirmahanni Pangulong Duterte ang Executive Order on FOI, with exceptions and affirming the right to privacy noongJuly 23, 2016

For the Executive Branch of government:

• to enable every Filipino access to information, official records, and other public documents

• national government and all its offices, departments, bureaus, offices, and instrumentatlities, including government-owned or -controlled corporations, and state universities and colleges

"Every Filipino shall have access to information, official records, public records and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for public-development"

PCOO Sec. Andanar:“The person who requests for information shall write a letter to the authorized personnel that is duly assigned by the head of the agency. The head of the agency shall review the letter, and if there [are] no questions with the request, then the person assigned should give the information not longer than 15 days.”

FOI for the Executive Branch of government:

• requests for access to information are free of charge unless the agency requires to “reimburse necessary costs, including actual costs of reproduction and copying of the information requested, subject to existing rules and regulations

• Failure to comply with the provisions of this Order may be a ground for administrative and disciplinary sanctions against any erring public officer or employee

PROCEDURERecords Officer (RO)

FOI Decision Maker (DM)

• first evaluate the info being requested, identify FOI decision maker (DM) from the appropriate agency, and notify him of the request

• conduct an initial screening of the request and provide initial decision; ensure that the complete information requested is submitted to the RO within 10 days

• transmit the documents to the requesting party within 15 days. The RO may request additional time to complete the request but this cannot exceed 20 working days.

• In case of denial, a requesting party can make an appeal to the PCO Central Appeals and Review Committee, which shall be composed of three officials designed by the Communications Secretary

Records Officer (RO)

Requesting party

PERO, MADAMING EXCEPTIONS!...

... at 166 lahat!

In Section 4 of the EO--

“Access to information shall be denied when the information falls under any of the exceptions enshrined in the Constitution, existing law or jurisprudence”

Some questionable exceptions from the Draft FOI Manual are the following:– Non-disclosure of SALN;– Legislative Journals;– Exceptions as general as “Such information, record or

document comprises drafts of decisions, orders, rulings, policy decisions, memoranda, etc.”

– “Government officials cannot be compelled to prepare lists and detailed reports on how congressional funds were disbursed”;

– Confidentiality of information known to a public official or employee by reason of his office;

...questionable exceptions in FOI – The information requested consists of drafts of

orders, resolutions, decisions, memoranda or audit reports by any executive, administrative, regulatory, constitutional, judicial or quasi-judicial body in the exercise of their regulatory audit and adjudicatory function;

– Court records, including pleadings, and other documents filed by litigants are confidential;

– Documents submitted to the Government Electronic Procurement System;

...questionable exceptions in FOI – Proprietary information disclosed to the Head of

Agency in an unsolicited proposal under the BOT Law;– Confidential information involving investment

guarantees;– Any confidential info supplied by the contractor to

DENR or to the government pursuant to the Mining Act of 1995;

– Secret of private individual known by public officer by reason of his or her office;

– Confidentiality of information acquired by COMELEC officials

PERO, MAY PANTAPAT TAYO--HOUSE BILL 334 SA KONGRESO

HOUSE BILL 334 oFreedom of Information Act of 2016

The key features of HB334• rationalize the harsh exemptions provided

for in the 1989 Rules Implementing the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA 6713) promulgated by the Civil Service Commission and to provide effective means for redress of violations of the right

• absolute and mandatory access to matters of official information, public concern and public interest.

HB334 addresses the following issues:

• elimination of hardly comprehensible and excessively broad jargon of exemptions to the exercise of the right to official information

• simplify the limitations to “Except when it is clear that the purpose of the examination is to abet or promote or commit crime or wrongdoing or to engage in sheer and idle curiosity.”

WHAT SHOULD BE DISCLOSED?

1. Official acts of public officers done in the pursuit of their official functions;

2. Judicial or quasi-judicial decisions or orders as well as records of court cases in whatever stage, and policy decisions of public officers, boards, commissions or tribunals;

3. Transactions, contracts and agreements, whether the government is a nominal or active contracting or counter-party, including negotiations or definite propositions of the government leading to the consummation of the transactions, contracts and agreements;

4. Government research data used as basis for policy development, enactment of statutes, rules and regulations, and execution of transactions, contracts and agreements, whether the government is a nominal or active contracting or counter-party, including negotiations or definite propositions of the government leading to the consummation of the transactions, contracts and agreements;

5. Laws, policies, rules and procedure, work programs, projects and performance targets, performance reports;

6. Public and private writings coming into the hands of public officers in connection with their official functions;

7. Books of account, ledgers, and other documents of whatever nature or character used as basis for applications, reports or returns or other documents regardless of nature or character submitted to the government; and

8. All other information required by law to be accessible to the public.

ANG HB334 AY PARA SA LAHAT NG SANGAY NG GOBYERNO

NASAAN NA ITO NGAYON?

• House Committee on Public Information

• 1st reading sa October 11, 2016, 930AM

ISA PANG BALITA!

AN ACT PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF FREE/OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE (FOSS) IN THE PHILIPPINES, AMENDING RA 8293 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE 'INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES', PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Unlike proprietary software, FOSS is• cheap (in fact, most FOSS are distributed free to

the public by their own developers) • flexible and development-friendly (FOSS source

codes are accessible to consumers who may study, modify and customize the software)

• interoperable (FOSS adheres to open standards and are meant to work across various platforms and protocols), and

• safe (the opening of the source codes and the use of open standards have allowed hundreds of thousands of users around the globe to serve as a virtual research and development team, providing patches and solutions to bugs and glitches in real time over the internet).

NASAAN NA ANG HOUSE BILL 3612 NGAYON?

• Pending with the House Committee on ICT since September 21, 2016

WAYS FORWARD

ANONG PWEDENG GAWIN?• Patuloy na itutulak

ni Rep. Zarate at ngBAYAN MUNA nadinggin at maipasaang HB 334 (FOI) at HB 3612 (FOSS)

• Pero kailangan ngpagkilos ng FOSS advocates at freedom of information fighters!

Kailangan maitulak ang mga mababatas at si Pangulong Duterte na aprubahan ang

FOI at FOSS

Ipakita natin ang nagkakaisang tinig parasa kahalagahan ng mga panukalang batas

na FOI at FOSS

1. Sumulat o magpetisyon sa mgaKongresista at Senador at kayPangulong Duterte para iprayoritisa angpagpasa ng batas sa FOI at FOSS. Ipadala ang kopya ng petisyon saheadquarters ng Bayan Muna o satanggapan ni Rep. Zarate sa Kongreso

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC

INFORMATION

HOUSE COMMITTEE

ON ICT

In the Senate,

Public Info & Mass Media

Chair is Sen. Grace Poe

Ipakita natin ang nagkakaisangtinig para sa kahalagahan ng mgapanukalang batas na FOI at FOSS

2. Maglunsad ng mga discussions o talakayan para mas mapataas angpagkaunawa at pagkakaisa sa atinglaban para sa genuine FOI at FOSS

Ipakita natin ang nagkakaisang tinig parasa kahalagahan ng mga panukalang batas

na FOI at FOSS

3. Sumulat sa diyaryo, tumawag saradio, magpost sa FB at social media para lumakas pa ang atingpanawagan/kampanya

Ipakita natin ang nagkakaisangtinig para sa kahalagahan ng mgapanukalang batas na FOI at FOSS

4. Sumama sa mga pagkilos para sapagpasa ng mga batas sa FOI at FOSS.

Maraming salamat po!