Unhampered Service. The Philippine Fisheries Development Authority – Public Information Division (PFDA PID) participated in the Freedom of Information (FOI) virtual conference, September 25.

 As part of the commitment to provide unhampered delivery of service and keep up with the information needs of all the stakeholders and interested parties despite the pandemic, the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority – Public Information Division (PFDA PID) participated in the Freedom of Information (FOI) virtual conference, September 25.

The workshop recognized the adjustments and circumstances brought by the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Compliance Monitoring Division (CMD) of the FOI-PMO organized the online event and gathered more than 100 FOI receiving officers from various National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs).

The activity covered updates and sharing of agencies’ best practices and challenges on FOI implementation especially during pandemic, and 2020 FOI Performance-Based Bonus (PBB) Requirements.

The FOI-PMO also solicited feedback from FOI Receiving Officers (FROs) on agency implementation and suggestions to further develop innovative solutions to further improve FOI implementation in all government agencies.

According to the FOI-PMO, the eFOI portal received a total of 11,847 requests of information over the course of the Community Quarantine period from March 14, 2020 to September 15, 2020.

The Freedom of Information (FOI) is a government mechanism, which allows Filipino citizens to request any information about government transactions and operations, provided that it shall not put into jeopardy – privacy and matters of national security, according to the FOI website (foi.gov.ph).

PCOO Assistant Secretary Kristian R. Ablan, FOI Program Director, graced the event, while Ms. Eden Darlene A. Mendoza, FOI Compliance Monitoring Division Chief, served as the resource person. (Public Information Division)