RUN-AROUND GAME?
In this case, the problem may have been more with the agency involved rather than the project. PCIJ's research intern Philip Ney recalls his dealings with DPWH officials during the process: “(A) department secretary referred me to the undersecretary, who referred me back to the secretary, who told me to talk to the same undersecretary, who once again told me that I needed to ask the secretary.”

Table 3: Approved Requests AGENCY REQUEST Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) National Broadband Network (NBN) project documents Department of Education (DepEd) Cyber-Education Project (CEP) documents Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Second Social Expenditure Management Project (SEMP2) documents Bureau of Customs (BOC) Non-Intrusive Container Inspection System Project documents Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Angat Water Utilization and Aqueduct Improvement Project documents Laiban Dam Project documents Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) Pasig River Environmental Management and Rehabilitation Sector Development Program documents Contracts of various constructions undertaken through the program Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) project documents Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway project documents National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) NBN and CEP Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) data and other related documents List of all ODA grants List of new ODA projects Information on President’s Bridges Program Commission on Audit (COA) COA reports of various foreign-assisted projects

But DPWH was not the only agency that seemed to be unused to entertaining requests for ODA project information, and wound up giving disorganized responses and unclear instructions. For example, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) had already given permission to pick up the executive summaries of the Angat Water Utilization and Aqueduct Improvement Project and Laiban Dam Project on September 21, 2007. But when PCIJ showed up at the MWSS doorstep to get the papers, the decision had been reversed and the documents withdrawn. Another letter was sent and more calls had to be made before the documents were released — more than a month later.

Indeed, apparent disorganization among the agencies approached by the PCIJ was one of the major factors that led to more than half of the requests taking over 15 working days to process.

Agencies also often do not really follow the provision on the law that says, “The reply must contain the action taken on the request.” Apart from PCIJ, many other groups that had tried to secure documents from state agencies have experienced getting nothing more than an acknowledgment of the receipt of their request.

Vincent Lazatin, Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN) executive director, points out that the usual agency response letter saying, “We’ve received your letter,” or “We’re endorsing your request” does not necessarily mean action was already taken, as stipulated by law.

“What they do is they endorse you to a supervisor or the next higher official, but that’s not replying,” says senior journalist Tess Bacalla, who had also worked as a PCIJ fellow.

HELPFUL AGENCIES
Still, the PCIJ did find some agencies and employees helpful. Some officials, who believed in the ODA projects they oversaw, were eager for the media — and ultimately, the public — to know more about these.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), for example, provided substantial documents for the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan - Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) project eight days after PCIJ sent its letter of request. These included the contract agreement, loan agreement, implementation status report, annual reports, and project review and project appraisal documents with annexes that contained project cost analysis, cost-benefit analysis, sensitivity analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, environmental and social safeguards and other important details.

The Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) and the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) were also two of the most cooperative in providing data for the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway project and the Pasig River Environmental Management and Rehabilitation Sector Development Program (PREMRSDP), respectively. Both agencies took less than 15 working days to approve the requests.

Lawyer Malaluan says that any citizen who is denied access to public information can take several actions to assert his or her right. “You can file before the Supreme Court a petition for mandamus or you can exhaust your administrative remedies by going to the next higher office such as the Departments and then the Office of the President,” Malaluan suggests. “Or you may request assistance from the Office of the Ombudsman or file an administrative case with the Civil Service Commission.”

He concedes, though, that these remedies take a great deal of time.

In the meantime, Landingin encourages journalists to use all available avenues to get the right information to the public at the right time. He says that on one level, journalists must insist on their right to access information and documents affecting public welfare and use of public funds. On another, he says, the reality of red tape means journalists must also nurture contacts and develop sources to increase their chances of accessing information.

Simply put, transparency is an important element of good governance. ATIN has thus proposed the “Freedom of Information Act of 2007,” a law that will help mend the gaps in access to information and provide more teeth to Republic Act 6713. The bill is currently set for plenary hall debates in Congress.

SIDEBAR Quick-click research IT’S NOT always the most reliable source of information, but there’s no denying that the Internet has become a valuable tool for anyone doing any kind of research. In its six-month study of official development assistance (ODA) projects, the PCIJ found some very helpful websites that contained substantial information on foreign aid even as it was encountering resistance (and sometimes confusion) from various government agency personnel regarding similar data. The websites of ODA providers, in fact, proved to be among the most useful, with that of the World Bank having the most accessible procurement data available online. And not only does its website’s search function allow searches of major contracts, the results are also exportable to Excel. The Asian Development Bank (ADB), another ODA lender, similarly provides procurement information, although its website is not as user-friendly as the World Bank’s. ADB posts contract awards information on goods and related services, civil works, and consulting services. It also publishes quarterly procurement statistics, and provides a breakdown by nature of contract, funding type, and lending category. One limitation, though, is that data presented in monthly reports are available only in PDF format, making it difficult to search. Meanwhile, quite a number of Philippine government agencies already have active and updated websites, allowing the public faster and easier access to selected information. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) website, for example, has data on bid summaries and awards for civil works, supplies, and consultancy online. While not searchable, the information available is remarkable because it gives the researcher an idea of how close or far the bids were from each other. Journalist Roel Landingin, who did the PCIJ series on ODA, says, “I don't think other procurement websites, even the World Bank, has data on bids.” Another is the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines-Philippine Domestic Construction Board (CIAP-PDCB) website, which provides a link to Constructors Performance and Evaluation Summary Report that in turn contains information on major infrastructure projects undertaken by the DPWH, Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), and so on. CIAP-PDCB also maintains a list of blacklisted contractors. One downside, however, is that not all agencies submit reports and not all projects are covered. Then there is of course the Commission on Audit (COA) website, which, aside from audit reports of selected government agencies, also publishes audit reports of foreign-assisted projects. The COA website provides annual executive summaries and full reports, annexes included. A matrix of observations per implementing agency, in particular, is presented in the report, and includes information on the procurement of consulting services, civil works and goods, financial performance, physical performance, and project sustainability. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) online also has ODA information, but is limited only to consolidated annual ODA reviews, profiles and country programs, and the ODA Act or Republic Act 8182. NEDA does have an ODA Monitoring System (ODAMS), but the data available online are only the basic and brief description for each project. Indeed, technology can expand the right to information. It is only a matter of maximizing the use of this technology to achieve and improve transparency in government. — Karol Ilagan

See also the PCIJ microsite, Philippine ODA Trail.