The long-awaited Freedom of Information measure may finally see the light of day under the Duterte administration.
In keeping with his campaign promise, President Duterte is expected to issue an executive order that aims to give greater public access to government documents in the interest of transparency and accountability.
The presidential directive mandating disclosure of public documents is currently being drafted and “finetuned” and will be released either this week or next week, according to Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Martin Andanar. This will likely be the first EO of the new Philippine leader.
“The best days are yet to come. This week po abangan niyo po ang aming draft po at sana – hinahabol po namin ang draft po ng executive order para po sa Freedom of Information,” Andanar said over State-owned DZRB.
“I-a-anunsyo po namin iyan at sana mahabol po namin this week or next week po. Iyan po ang commitment po ng Pangulo sa atin,” he added.
Meanwhile, a high-level government task force will soon be created to bring to justice the culprits behind the killings of journalists in the country.
Andanar announced yesterday that an administrative order on the formation of the presidential task force is already being drafted and may be released in the coming days. (Genalyn D. Kabiling)
