Right to Information Flashcards
[Sec. 7, Art. III, Constitution].
The right of the people to information on ________________ shall be recognized. Access to __________, and to _____________________ pertaining to __________________, as well as to __________________ used as basis for ______________, shall be afforded the _______, subject to such limitations as may be provided by ____
matters of public concern; official records; documents and papers; official acts, transactions, or decisions; government research data; policy development; citizen; law
[Sec. 7, Art. III, Constitution].
The right of the people to information on ________________ shall be recognized. Access to __________, and to _____________________ pertaining to __________________, as well as to __________________ used as basis for ______________, shall be afforded the _______, subject to such limitations as may be provided by ____
[Sec. 28, Art. II, Constitution.]
Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by ____, the State adopts and implements a policy of _______________ of all its ____________ involving ____________
law;
full public disclosure;
transactions;
public interest
[Sec. 28, Art. II, Constitution.]
Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by ____, the State adopts and implements a policy of _______________ of all its ____________ involving ____________
[Sec. 10, Art. XVI, Constitution].
The State shall provide the policy environment for the full development of ________________ and the emergence of __________________ suitable to the needs and aspirations of the nation and the ___________________ into, out of, and across the country, in accordance with a policy that respects the ____________________
Filipino capability;
communication structures;
balanced flow of information;
freedom of speech and of the press;
What is under the Policy of Full Public Disclosure?
- Covers all transactions involving public interest, including any matter contained in official communications and public documents of the government agency.
- Does not require demand
- Pertains to duty to disclose of the government, pursuant to the policy of full public disclosure.
What is under the Right to Information on Matters of Public Concern?
• Covers matters of public concern.
Public Concern: no exact definition and
adjudicated by the courts on a case-by-case basis, but examples abound in jurisprudence (e.g. peace negotiations, board exams, PCGG compromise agreements, civil service matters).
- Requires demand or request required to gain access.
- Pertains to duty to permit access to information on matters of public concern.
What is public concern?
“Public concern” like “public interest” embrace a broad spectrum of subjects which the public may want to know, either because these directly affect their lives, or simply because such matters naturally arouse the interest of an ordinary citizen
[Legazpi v. CSC, G.R. No. L-72119 (1987)].
What are things that are under matters of public concern?
- Official records
- Documents pertaining to official acts
- Government research date used as basis for policy development
What are matters of public concern in jurisprudence?
- Loanable funds of GSIS [Valmonte v. Belmonte, G.R. No. 74930 (1989)]
- Civil service eligibility of sanitarian employees [Legazpi v. CSC, G.R. No. L-72119 (1987)]
- Appointments made to public offices and the utilization of public property [Gonzales v. Narvasa, G. R. No. 140835 (2000)]
- National board examinations such as the CPA Board Exams [Antolin v. Domondon, G.R. No.165036 (2010)]
- Names of nominees of partylists [Bantay Republic v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 177271 (2007)]
- Negotiations leading to the consummation of the transaction [Chavez v. PEA and Amari, G.R. No. 133250 (2002)]
What are the limitations on the right of the people to information?
The right of the people to information must be balanced against other genuine interest necessary for the proper functioning of the government [BERNAS].
Restrictions to the right to information may be:
a. Based on kinds of information
b. Based on access
c. Based on reasonable regulation for the convenience of and for order in the office that has custody of the documents [Baldoza v. Dimaano, A.M. No. 1120-MJ (1976)]
d. Based on availability.
What are the restrictions on the right of information based on kinds of information?
Exempted information:
- Privileged information rooted in separation of powers
- Information of military and diplomatic secrets
- Information affecting national and economic security
- Information on investigations of crimes by law enforcers before prosecution [Chavez v. PEA and Amari, supra]
- Trade secrets and banking transactions [Chavez v. PCGG, G.R. No. 130716 (1998)]
- Offers exchanged during diplomatic negotiations [Akbayan v. Aquino, G.R. No. 170516 (2008)]
- Other confidential matters (i.e. RA 6713, closed door Cabinet meetings, executive sessions, or internal deliberations in the Supreme Court) [Chavez v. PCGG, supra]
What are the restriction to the right to information based on access?
- Opportunity to inspect and copy records at his expense [Chavez v. PEA and Amari, supra]
- Not the right to compel custodians of official records to prepare lists, abstracts, summaries and the like [Valmonte v. Belmonte, supra]
What are restrictions to the right to information based on reasonable regulation for the convenience of and for oderr in the office that has custody of the documents?
Discretion does not carry with it the authority to prohibit access, inspection, examination, or copying [Lantaco v. Llamas, A.M. No. 1037-CJ (1981)].
The authority to regulate the manner of examining public records does not carry with it the power to prohibit; thus, while the manner of examining public records may be subject to reasonable regulation by the government agency in custody thereof, the duty to disclose the information of public concern, and to afford access to public records cannot be discretionary on the part of said agencies [Legaspi v. CSC, G.R. No. L-72119 (1987)].
What are the restrictions to the right to information based on availability?
The right is available only to citizens.
In case of denial of access, the government agency has the burden of showing that the information requested is not of public concern, or if it is of public concern, that the same has been exempted by law from the operation of the guarantee [Legaspi v. CSC, supra].
What is the rule of publication of laws and regulations?
Full publication is a condition for law’s effectivity.
The rule of Full Publication covers what?
The rule covers all statutes (includes those of local application and private laws), presidential decrees and executive orders by President acting under power either directly conferred by the Constitution or validly delegated by the legislature, and administrative rules and regulations for implementing existing laws, charter of a city, circulars by Monetary Board.
