Sotto files 2025 FOI bill to ensure full disclosure of gov't transactions

In a bid to recognize the right of Filipinos to information on matters of public concern and implement a policy of full public disclosure of all government transactions involving public interest, Senate Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III filed the People’s Freedom of Information Act of 2025.

The bill, filed on 7 July at the 20th Congress of the Senate of the Philippines, is “An Act Implementing the People’s Right to Information and the Constitutional Policies of Full Public Disclosure and Honesty in the Public Service and for Other Purposes”, citing that the Freedom of Information (FOI) Law is long overdue.

However, sensitive personal information such as race, ethnicity, origin, health records, education, tax returns, and other personal records shall be kept classified.

“Transparency is the cornerstone of good governance. To foster accountability, trust, and citizen participation, our Government shall provide ready and complete access to key information to the discerning public,” Senator Sotto said.

The FOI bill also mandates the disclosure of specific information, particularly the annual Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of the following public servants: the President, Vice President, Members of the Cabinet, Members of Congress, Justices of the Supreme Court, Members of Constitutional Commissions and other constitutional offices, and Officers of the Armed Forces with General or Flag Ranks.

Further, the bill states that all agencies across all branches of government are also expected to upload to their websites — subject to monthly updates — a register of transactions, documents, and records of their annual budget, monthly collections and disbursements, summary of income and expenditures, procurement plan and list, items to bid, procurement contracts, and other pertinent information.

Public officials who conceal, deny, destroy, alter, tamper with, or modify information shall face a penalty of imprisonment for not less than one month but not more than six months, and a fine ranging from P10,000 to P100,000.

“In this modern world where data is readily available online, information about government transactions, processes, and actions shall likewise be accessible to our countrymen as a matter of right,” Sotto added.

During the Roundtable Stakeholder Discussion on the FOI, a renewed call for the institutionalization of FOI was amplified, according to Budget Secretary and Chair of the Philippine Open Government Partnership, Amenah Pangandaman.

“For over three decades since the filing of the very first FOI Bill, the country has yet to pass an enabling law that will uphold the people’s constitutional right to information,” she said.

In 2016, Executive Order No. 2 was issued to operationalize this right, recognizing that every Filipino shall have access to information and official and public records, with information that may compromise national security being the only exception.

In support of this, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) manages the eFOI portal, allowing Filipinos to easily request the information they need from government agencies from the comfort of their homes.