Press Release
July 25, 2016

De Lima lauds Duterte administration's FOI EO
Says FOI ushers in a new age of governance

As a staunch advocate of citizens' right to access information, Senator Leila M. de Lima today lauded the Executive Order issued by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, which enforces the long-awaited Freedom of Information.

De Lima, who had previously expressed her support to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, believes that the Executive Order takes transparency, accountability and participatory governance to a whole new level.

"FOI is the core of transparency, accountability and participatory governance. With the signing of the EO, the government is now able to take citizen engagement to a whole new level," she said.

The senator had previously issued a statement of support for the FOI during her term as Chairperson at the Commission on Human Rights.

She also believes that the next step now is to study the EO, along with other transparency initiatives, including previous bills of the FOI, so that it can be institutionalized.

"There have been a lot of transparency initiatives in the past, which have been recognized internationally," the senator noted.

"The next step now should be to study the EO, and other transparency efforts, and see how we can finally have a law that will allow people to access information in the government," she urged.

"This EO welcomes a new age of governance. I urge my colleagues to rally behind this order and legislate transparency," she ended.

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