PASIG CITY— Data-Driven Development in the Philippines (PH3D) held a two-day workshop last July 27-28, 2022 as part of its commitment to aid the city in strengthening its Freedom of Information (FOI) initiative with the help of Right to Know Right Now Coalition (R2KRN) headed by Ms. Malou Mangahas.
Last year, Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Action for Economic Reforms (AER) to assist the city with its FOI efforts through the application of evidence-based approaches and strategies.
Mr. Rechie Tugawin, who leads the FOI Technical Working Group (FOI TWG) reiterated that Pasig City’s journey towards data-driven development aims to influence the local government unit’s (LGU) capacity for policy designing and crafting. He added that their Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) is done, and that while Pasig City has always been data-driven, the workshop will aid participants in strengthening the implementation of the FOI ordinance.
Participants included were a total of 55 officials from the City Administrator’s Office, City Health Department, City Legal Office, City Planning and Development Office, Data Privacy, Management Information System Office, Office of the City Mayor, Office of the Vice Mayor/Sangguniang Panlungsod, Public Information Office, and Ugnayan sa Pasig. It is envisioned that one representative from these offices will be involved in the composition of the FOI TWG to be strengthened by an Executive Order.
Officials expressed their expectations for the workshop including: (1) to learn about the 3D government administration and planning and be able to apply it in their work; (2) improve the quality of decision-making and how data can help in their future projects; (3) to verify information; (4) to learn how to use the CBMS program; and (5) to broaden their knowledge on FOI and the Data Privacy Act (DPA) in terms of legality and handling data/information with confidentiality.
As the first LGU to pass an ordinance on FOI, discussions revolved on how the Pasig City government’s initiative has contributed to overall performance. Participants shared that the FOI has promoted transparency in the bidding process, which leads to good governance and faster service; availability of data leads to better decision-making; helps students with their research and encourages participation from their constituents; and led to the establishment of Ugnayan sa Pasig, which helps individuals in need of public information.
Recommended actions and next steps to further strengthen Pasig City’s FOI implementation include:
Policy: Review and improve the Freedom of Information and Data Privacy Manuals.
Process: Support FOI with a data management and security system, and formulate data quality/management guidelines.
People: Restructure existing departments or create new ones, and continue capacity building via monthly or quarterly trainings.
The PH3D team will continue working with Pasig City LGU until December 2022.
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Action for Economic Reforms (AER) was established in 1996 and is a policy research, advocacy, and action group by publicly-engaged political economists with focus on various sectors from fiscal policy, food and agriculture, industrial policy, governance, interface, and data-driven
development.
PH3D, a component of AER’s data-driven development focus and co-funded by the European Union (EU), helps Local Government Units (LGU) deliver their priority projects using data and technology, and community alliances. Using this framework, LGUs will have access to actionable evidence that will empower them to view macro and micro data, prioritize programs, manage resources, enhance capacity, and get support from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).