Senate Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III has filed a bill giving citizens the right to information on matters of public concern and providing a mechanism for full public disclosure on all government transactions involving public interest. 

In filing Senate Bill No. 189, or the proposed People’s Freedom of Information Act of 2025, Sotto said it is imperative to uphold honesty in the public service by giving Filipino citizens access to such information. 

Sotto said that the Freedom of Information (FOI) Law is long overdue.

“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,” said Sotto.

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

Sotto’s version of the FOI 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.

Moreover, the bill also requires all agencies across all branches of government to upload to their websites, subject to monthly updates, a register of transactions, documents and records of its annual budget, monthly collections and disbursements, summary of income and expenditures, procurement plan and list, items to bid, procurement contracts, among others.

Under the bill,  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.

The bill also imposed a fine ranging from ₱10,000 to ₱100,000.

“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,” he said.