BALANGA CITY (PIA) -- The Freedom of Information (FOI) Program Management Office (PMO) of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) conducted a Transparency Roadshow and Campus Caravan in Bataan.
A total of 204 provincial government officials and employees, barangay officials, and representatives from national government agencies attended the morning session while about 193 faculty and students from Bataan Peninsula State University took part in the afternoon session.
In her video message, PCO Assistant Secretary for Operations Evangeline De Leon said the 2nd leg of the Transparency Roadshow and Campus Caravan in Central Luzon seeks to inform and engage communities and organizations on the transparency initiatives of the government.
“Localization of the FOI mechanism is the focus of our campaign this year. Our learnings from our past practices have seen the need to connect our citizens and the government, especially here at the local level, more so at the grassroots,” she emphasized.
FOI provides a whole-of-government approach to institutionalize transparency and accountability.
“It is a program that must be implemented and harmonized in every sector, level and domain of our bureaucracy — a basic human right that is exercise anytime, anywhere by our citizens,” De Leon furthered.
For his part, Governor Jose Enrique Garcia III thanked the PCO for exerting extra effort to bring the 2023 Transparency Roadshow to Bataan.
“This initiative is of utmost importance in the realization of our mutual goal of promoting transparency and accountability in the government through access to information,” he said.
The activity is aligned with the Marcos administration’s Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, which emphasizes the need to strengthen the localization of the FOI program.
Garcia also expressed hope that all participants would learn from the roadshow and share their learnings with their respective local government units and agencies.
“We are one in our firm belief that an informed citizenry is an empowered citizenry,” he underscored.
Meanwhile, FOI-PMO Information Technology Officer Martin Jann Ceneta allowed the participants to immerse themselves in navigating the e-FOI portal.
He stressed that students, especially those pursuing journalism, can leverage the FOI platform to gain improved access to governmental news sources.
The sessions also featured the sharing of transparency initiatives of two agencies, namely National Housing Authority and Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan. (CLJD/RPQ-PIA 3)
