Anti-red tape body wants to improve FOI process

The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) said it was planning to cut the 15-day standard processing period for Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.

ARTA Director General Ernesto V. Perez told reporters last week they wanted to improve the system that gives the public the right to access information held by government agencies and public authorities.

“If it is for the better, if it will improve the service, then why not,” the ARTA official said.

“We have what we call review of laws and regulations. This is under the mandate of the [ARTA],” he added, citing that a regulatory review would be necessary to change significant aspects of the law.

He said regulatory reviews were carried out in response to petitions sent by groups or individuals. ARTA could also initiate its own review.

FOI allows Filipino citizens to request information about government transactions and operations, excluding those that might jeopardize privacy and national security.

Next year, the anti-red tape body will embark on improving the process of thousands of government agencies through a report card system.

Perez earlier said they were planning to onboard about 3,000 government agencies  for their report card survey (RCS). These organizations will be subject to a grading system measuring the efficiency and customer satisfaction towards them.

ARTA began a pilot run of the RCS this year, which ran from the last week of October to November, covering 50 government agencies.

The Department of Trade and Industry and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation were among those included in the pilot run.