The Pasig City local government recognized its most responsive offices for inquiries and complaints, in compliance with its localized Freedom of Information (FOI) policy.
The award for "Most Responsive Office for FOI requests" was given to the City Planning and Development Office. It is followed by the Environmental and Sanitation Section in the first place, the Dengue Task Force in the second place, and the Pasig City Action Line Division in the third place.
These offices were lauded for their efficiency in processing requests, giving solutions, and delivering documents and other requested materials in the fastest time possible.
Representatives from the winning offices accepted the plaques of recognition during the event at the Chardonnay Events Hall by Astoria, conferred by the Ugnayan sa Pasig (USaP), the city government's primary FOI operating body.
Prior to the awarding ceremony, around 106 deputy information officers (DIOs) from the offices and departments of the Pasig local government participated in a Freedom of Information (FOI) workshop to develop the city's FOI capacities.
Presentations were given by John Wilmer Jimenez and Martin Jann Ceneta from FOI Philippines to refresh the knowledge of DIOs on the basics of the FOI policy, and further explain the importance of their mandate as information officers of the city.
Jimenez focused on the duty of DIOs as bridges of communication between the local government and its constituents, emphasizing the strengthening of bonds to earn the public's trust in government through accessible information.
Ceneta elaborated on the use of the FOI portal, and the DIOs familiarity with the process and the system itself. With the electronic FOI or e-FOI, processing document requests and answering inquiries from the public is easier and more convenient.
Asst. City Administrator Atty. Diego Luis Santiago also gave a presentation on the Ease of Doing Business and the Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018. The former focused on the business registration and licensing processes, and the latter highlighted the revised number of allowable dates for processing simple and complex transactions as adhered to by the Pasig FOI.
The successful implementation of the localized FOI is part of the city government's priority thrust in upholding transparency and accountability in governance.
Pasig City was the first city in the National Capital Region (NCR) that passed an FOI Ordinance, authored and sponsored by former Councilor and incumbent Mayor Vico Sotto back in 2018.
Since its creation within the ordinance, USaP has been awarded by the FOI – Project Management Office in 2019 (FOI Awardee) and in 2022 (top requested and performing agencies in the eFOI portal category with “250 to 499 requests and with at least 90 percent closed transactions”).
The local government further institutionalized its FOI body and its mechanisms by converting USaP into a full-fledged office in July 2023, since it was simply operating as a unit under the Office of the City Administrator (OCA) since 2019. It was accompanied by the launch of the FOI Experience, which detailed and expanded the system of FOI procedures in the city.