laws and regulations governing public records -...
TRANSCRIPT
Fe Angela M. Verzosa
By Fe Angela M. Verzosa
Laws and regulations governing
Public Records
Fe Angela M. Verzosa
What are Public Records?
Public records are records that are meant to be made available to the public at large on demand.
While most of the
information filed under the category of public records are made available free of cost on demand, some records might be provided upon paying a nominal fee.
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What Do Public Records Do?
• Document actions, decisions, policies and procedures
• Provide legal evidence
• Audit trail
• For accountability
• Preserve corporate memory
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. Some exceptions
to making records public:
Records that relate to national security, e.g. classified
documents that the government may refuse to produce in court cases or for Congressional hearings, such as those dealing with military plans and diplomatic strategy.
Records whose contents, if made public, could invade the privacy of an individual who has broken no laws (personnel files, for instance, or income tax records)
Records restricted for reason of public order
and safety, such as Police and other records that relate to
the investigation of a yet-unsolved crime , and records whose
disclosure would endanger the life and safety of an individual
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Other limitations to public access
NAP General Circular No. 1 (Jan 20, 2009)
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Are records available to the public?
[Countries ranked according to "YES" answers]
5%Burma
18%Vietnam
18%Indonesia
33%Malaysia
42%Singapore
44%Cambodia
56%Thailand
59%Philippines
2001 survey on the accessibility to the public of 43 government-held records
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What factors affect public access to records?
• Laws and legislations to guarantee access to information
• Administrative and judicial remedies
in case of nondisclosure by government
• Culture of transparency
• Information infrastructure (using technology to store, retrieve and disseminate information)
• Poor state of recordkeeping
• Strong and vigilant advocacy
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The constitutional right to information on
matters of public concern first gained
recognition in the Bill of Rights, Article IV, of
the 1973 Constitution, which states:
Sec. 6. The right of the people to information on
matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access
to official records, and to documents and papers
pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions,
shall be afforded the citizen subject to such
limitations as may be provided by law.
RIGHT TO INFORMATION
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RIGHT TO INFORMATION
The right of the people to information on
matters of public concern shall be recognized.
Access to official records, and to documents,
and papers pertaining to official acts,
transactions, or decisions, as well as to
government research data used as basis. for
policy development, shall be afforded the
citizen, subject to such limitations as may be
provided by law.
The foregoing provision has been retained and the right
therein provided amplified in Article III, Sec. 7 of the 1987 Constitution with the addition of the phrase, "as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development." The new provision reads:
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RIGHT TO INFORMATION
• In addition, the Constitution (Article 2 Section
28) mandates the State to adopt and implement
“a policy of full disclosure of all transactions
involving public interest.”
• On top of the Constitution, Congress passed a
law (Republic Act 6713) that provided a code of
conduct for public officials which obliges the
government to release information on other
matters of public concern and compels public
officials to disclose their assets and liabilities,
among other duties.
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On February 3, 2012, President Noynoy Aquinotransmitted a
proposed substitute Freedom of Information bill
to administration coalition allies in
the House of Representatives.
But it was not in his list of priority
measures.
On February 3, 2012, President Noynoy Aquinotransmitted a
proposed substitute Freedom of Information bill
to administration coalition allies in
the House of Representatives.
But it was not in his list of priority
measures.
11th Congress (1998-2001), a Freedom of Information bill passed third reading in the House of
Representatives but was never acted upon by the Senate because of the Estrada impeachment trial.
11th Congress (1998-2001), a Freedom of Information bill passed third reading in the House of
Representatives but was never acted upon by the Senate because of the Estrada impeachment trial.
In June 2010, the 14th
Congress in the House again failed to muster a quorum to ratify the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, approved by 180
lawmakers, many of whom however, were not present for its ratification. The bill had been pending in Congress for the last nine years.
In June 2010, the 14th
Congress in the House again failed to muster a quorum to ratify the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, approved by 180
lawmakers, many of whom however, were not present for its ratification. The bill had been pending in Congress for the last nine years.
The Freedom of Information billmakes the constitutional right to know and the state policy of full disclosure of transactions involving public interest operable.
RIGHT TO INFORMATION
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PNoy’s FOI version• Version expands access to financial
information such as SALNs and access to other kinds of information by incorporating a provision making the posting/publication mandatory.
• The public is spared from the tedious work of trying to access information from different agencies when the information is made available in one portal, the Official Gazette website (www.gov.ph)
• The bill asks government agencies to translate key information into major Filipino languages and present them in popular form and means.
All government agencies are required to prepare a Freedom of Information Manual that will contain
details and procedures and serve as a guide.
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National Archives of the Philippines
RA 9470 –An Act to Strengthen the System of Management and Administration of Archival Records, Establishing for the Purpose the National Archives of the Philippines and for other Purposes
• Approved on May 21, 2007
• Contains 7 Articles and 50 Sections
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National Archives mandate
“All public records with enduring value, held by
government offices, including, but not limited to, all
branches of government, constitutional offices, local
government units (LGUs), government-owned and -
controlled corporations (GOCCs), state universities
and colleges, Philippine embassies, consulates and
other Philippine offices abroad shall be transferred
to a permanent government repository for proper
management, control and regulation of record
disposition.”
Art. 1, Section 2, REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9470 (May 2007)
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National Archives: Functions
• Plan, formulate and implement a records
management and archival administration
program …including the adoption of security
measures and vital records protection program
for the government;
• Give technical assistance to all branches of
government in the planning, implementation and
evaluation of their public records management
and archives administration programs;
• Conduct training programs on records and
archives management
• Keep a registry of all public records for public
inspectionEstablish, maintain, operate regional archives and records centers and/or provide technical assistance to government agencies on the establishment of agency records centers.
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National Archives:Management of Public Records (Art. 3)requires all government offices to:
• establish their own archives and records office/unit
in coordination with the DBM and the National Archives
• be subject to registration and accreditation, a regular
audit
• regularly conduct an inventory of their public records
• prepare and submit a records disposition schedule
in the prescribed form based on the general records
disposition schedule formulated by NAP prescribing the
disposal of public records common to all government
offices
• obtain prior written authority of the executive director
of NAP before disposal or destruction of any public
records.
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Inventory of Public Records
• All public records under its custody
• All public records transferred to the National Archives;
• Public records disposed of with authority
• Data of deferred transfer under Sec. 21; and
• A public access register that contains information on:(1) Restrictions on public access to public records imposed under Sec.
31(g)
(2) Prohibitions imposed under Sec. 36 on public access to public archives or protected records under the control of the executivedirector;
(3) The grounds for the prohibitions and restrictions stipulated under Sections 36 and 37
(4) The conditions agreed to under Sec. 23 hereof as to public access for protected records is transferred to the control of the executive director.
All government offices shall be mandated to keep the following data in their respective registry:
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Public records may be classed as:NAP General Circular No. 1 (Jan 20, 2009)
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• Sec. 23 of RA 9470. Protected Records of
Local Governments. - (a) The executive
director may, by notice in the Official
Gazette made after consultation with any
local government concerned, declare that a
local government record is a protected
record for purposes of this Act.
What are protected records?
LGUs shall provide for the adequate protection
and preservation of a protected record they hold, and cannot
dispose it without authorization and approval.
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Transfer of Public Recordsrequires all government offices to transfer to NAP:
• archival materials or collections of any
government office which are more than thirty
(30) years old and which can no longer be
maintained and preserved
• noncurrent public records that, in the judgment of
the executive director, are of permanent and
enduring archival value
• public records of a government office that ceases
to exist/function as a public office
• Noncurrent public records of a government office
that has thirty (30) years + retention periods
(including inactive personnel records)
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Transfer of Public Records
NAP General Circular No. 1 (Jan 20, 2009)
A person having custody of public records, at the expiration of his/her term of office or employment
shall deliver to his/her successor, or if there is none, to the National Archives of the Philippines,
all public records in his/her custody.
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Registry of Deferred Transfers
• Public records whose disposition are under or part of specific acts, laws or regulations
• Public records deferred for a specified period on any conditions that the head and the executive director consider appropriate as agreed in writing by the two parties
• Public records that are in electronic form, which the executive director instructs the controlling government office in writing to continue to maintain and control after the expiry of the thirty (30) year period
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Transfer of Public Records
Public records shall be surrendered on demand:
Except if the head of the
government office has permitted the person referred
to in the immediately preceding subsection to retain
possession of the record.
Public records, in the possession of a private person who has special permission to keep and
handle records in the course of his official duties, which
in the opinion of the executive director are or
likely to be of permanent and enduring archival value
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Disposal of Public Records• NAP General Circular No. 2 (Jan 20, 2009) provides
guidelines on the disposal of valueless records in government agencies.
General rules3.8
Do not dispose financialrecords subject of audit
until they are post-audited and finally
settled.
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NAP General Circular No. 2 (Jan 20, 2009)
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Questions?