Purpose of the Manual Structure of the Manual Coverage of the Manual FOI Receiving Officer FOI Decision Maker. Notification to the requesting party of the Approval/Denial of the Request Approval of Request. STRUCTURE OF THE MANUAL: This Manual establishes the rules and procedures to be followed by Bataan Peninsula State University whenever a request for access to information is received.
The University President is responsible for all actions performed under this manual and may delegate this responsibility to the Executive Committee and respective campus directors. The functions of the FRO include receiving all requests for information on behalf of the BPSU and its campuses. The request will be forwarded to the correct person/service that manages the administration.
It also contains information that encourages familiarity with the government's general operations, thrust and programs. ADMINISTRATIVE FOI APPEAL: An independent review of the initial determination made in response to the FOI request. PARTIAL GRANT/PART REFUSAL: When a government agency is able to share part of the records in response to a FOI request, but must deny another part of the request.
PROMOTION OF TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT
PROTECTION OF PRIVACY
STANDARD PROCEDURE (See Annex “C” for flowchart)
RECEIPT OF REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
EXCEPTIONS: Access to information will be denied when the information falls under any of the exceptions provided herein or in the attached list marked as Schedule. The request can be made by email, provided that the requesting party will attach a scanned copy of FOI application request and a copy of a duly recognized government ID to the email. The FRO enters the details of the request on the Request Tracking System and assigns a reference number.
An exception to this would be where the request was emailed to an absent member of staff, and this generated an 'out of office' message with instructions on how to redirect the message to another contact. Where this is the case, the date of receipt will be the day the request arrives in that contact's inbox. INITIAL EVALUATION: After receiving the request for information, the FRO will evaluate the content of the request.
The FDM must assess the recommendation from the FRO and notify the requesting party of the decision request. TRANSFER OF REQUEST FROM FRO TO FDM: After receiving the request for information from FRO, FDM must assess and clarify the request if necessary. He or she shall take all necessary steps before the FRO within 10 days of receipt of such request.
FDM'S ROLE IN PROCESSING THE REQUEST: After receiving the request for the information from the FRO, the FDM must evaluate and clarify the request if necessary. The FDM shall ensure that the complete information requested is sent to the FRO within 10 days of receipt of such request. The FRO records the date and time of receipt of the information from the FDM and reports to the Office of the President and to the respective department or office if the submission is beyond the 10-day period.
The explanation expires within 15 working days and begins the next day after receiving the requested explanation from the applicant. If the FDM determines that a record contains information of interest to another office, the FDM shall consult with the agency concerned about the possibility of disclosing the records before making any final decision.
ROLE OF FRO TO TRANSMIT THE INFORMATION TO THE REQUESTING PARTY
NOTICE TO THE REQUESTING PARTY OF THE APPROVAL/DENIAL OF THE REQUEST
FOI REQUEST PROCESS IN DAYS
- REMEDIES IN CASE OF DENIAL OF REQUEST
- REQUEST TRACKING SYSTEM
- FEES
- ADMINISTRATIVE LIABILITY
FOI Administrative Complaint to BPSU Legal and Regulatory Services: Provided that the written complaint must be filed by the same party that made the request within fifteen (15) calendar days of the denial notice or the expiration of the time limit for responding to the request. The Rector of the University decides on the appeal on the recommendation of the legal and legislative service of BPSU within thirty (30) working days from the filing of the said written appeal. The rejection of the appeal by the president of the university or the expiration of the deadline for responding to the request can be appealed to the office of the president in accordance with administrative order no.
After exhaustion of legal remedies for administrative FOI appeals, the requesting party may take appropriate legal action in accordance with the Court's Rules. BPSU will establish a system through the Office of Public Affairs (OPA) to track the status of all requests for information it receives, which may be paper, online, or both. No Application Fee: The university does not charge a fee for accepting information access requests.
Reasonable cost of reproduction and copying of the information: The FRO will notify the requesting party immediately if there will be a reproduction and copying fee for providing the information. Such fee is the equal amount spent by the University to provide the information to the requesting party. Exemption of fees: The Office of the President and its campuses may exempt any requesting party from payment of fees due to indigence, lack of funds or similar circumstances, upon request stating the valid reason why such requesting party will not pay the fee.
Procedure: The Revised Rules on Administrative Matters in the Civil Service apply to the settlement of matters in terms of this Manual. Provisions for more severe laws, rules and regulations: Nothing in this manual shall be construed to derogate from any law, any rule or regulation prescribed by any person or agency, which provides for more severe penalties.
ANNEXES
ANNEX “A”
MALACAÑAN PALACE MANILA
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 02
The Department of Justice and the Office of the Solicitor General are hereby directed to prepare any record of such exemptions and submit it to the Office of the President within thirty (30) calendar days of the effective date of this Executive Order. The Office of the President shall then promptly circulate the list of exemptions for the guidance of all government offices and instrumentalities covered by this executive order and the public. Said List of Exceptions shall be periodically updated to properly reflect any changes in existing law and jurisprudence, and the Department of Justice and the Office of the Solicitor General are directed to update the List of Exceptions as the need arises for purposes of circularization as noted above.
No request for information will be denied unless it clearly falls under any of the exceptions listed in the inventory or updated exceptions provided by the Office of the President circular in the preceding section. Determining the applicability of any of the exceptions to the request will be the responsibility of the Head of the Office or his designated officer who must exercise reasonable diligence to ensure that no exception will be used or taken advantage of to prevent any request for information. or deny access. to public records if the denial is primarily and intentionally intended to cover up crime, wrongdoing, graft or corruption. Public records and official records, responsible officials will provide full protection to the right to privacy of the individual as follows:.
For the effective implementation of this Order, each government office is directed to prepare its own People's FOI Manual within one hundred and twenty (120) calendar days of the entry into force of this Order, which shall include, inter alia, the following provisions:. a) The location and contact details of the head, regional,. county and field offices and other established places where the public may obtain information or make requests;. The request states the name and contact details of the requesting party, subject to valid proof of his identification and authorization. Provided that no request will be refused or accepted unless the reason for the request is against the law, existing rules and regulations or if it is one of the exceptions included in the inventory or updated inventory or updated inventory of exceptions as mentioned above.
The above response refers to the decision of the agency concerned whether or not to grant access to the requested information. e) The period to respond may be extended whenever the requested information requires extensive research of the records facilities of the government office, examination of voluminous files and the occurrence of a fortuitous instance of another analogous case. The Government Office will notify the applicant of the extension, in no event will the extension exceed twenty (20) business days unless exceptional circumstances warrant a longer period. f) Once a decision has been made on such decision and instructed to pay any applicable fees. However, they may charge a reasonable fee to cover the necessary costs, including the actual costs of reproducing and copying the required information, subject to existing rules and regulations.
If the Government Offices decide to deny the request in whole or in part, it shall as soon as possible, in any event within fifteen (15) working days of receipt of the request, notify the requesting party in writing of the denial. Failure to notify the requesting party of the action taken on the request within the time limit set forth herein shall be deemed a denial of the request for access to information.
ANNEX “B”
LIST OF EXCEPTION TO FOI
Information covered by Executive privilege;
Privileged information relating to national security, defense or international relations;
Information concerning law enforcement and protection of public and personal safety;
Information deemed confidential for the protection of the privacy of persons and certain individuals such as minors, victims of crimes, or
Information, documents or records known by reason of official capacity and are deemed as confidential, including those submitted or disclosed
Prejudicial premature disclosure;
Records of proceedings or information from proceedings which, pursuant to law or relevant rules and regulations, are treated as confidential or
Matters considered confidential under banking and finance laws, and their amendatory laws; and
Other exceptions to the right to information under laws, jurisprudence, rules and regulations
ANNEX “C”
FOI REQUEST FLOW CHART
ANNEX “C1”
DETAILED FOI REQUEST PROCESS
ANNEX “C2”
This table sets out our targets at various points within the 15 working day response time frame for completing key steps in the FOI request handling process. Every FOI request is different, so not all of these actions will be necessary in every case - some will be much simpler - and sometimes actions will be completed earlier or changed from the targets in this table. However, it is always important that decision makers, etc. allow enough time for them to confirm the FO's response before the 15 working day deadline expires.
For any request, it is essential that you start handling it as soon as you receive it, that you access the work that needs to be done, that you schedule that work so that the request is answered in a timely manner.
ANNEX “D”
FOI REQUEST FORM
ANNEX “E”
FOI RESPONSE TEMPLATE - DOCUMENT ENCLOSED
FOI RESPONSE TEMPLATE - ANSWER
FOI RESPONSE TEMPLATE - UNDER EXCEPTIONS
BATAAN PENINSULA STATE UNIVERSITY FOI FOCAL PERSONS
