Philippine president signs freedom of information order

MANILA: President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a landmark freedom of information order to allow the public full access to government records for the first time, his spokesman said Sunday, in a move welcomed by transparency advocates.

The executive order, providing for "full public disclosure and transparency" by government agencies, was signed by the firebrand leader on Saturday, his spokesman Martin Andanar said, just 25 days after taking office.

Media and watchdog groups had been demanding the reform, the first national freedom of information order, for years.

"This is record-breaking speed for a landmark executive order being signed," Andanar told reporters.

Press and anti-corruption groups have long campaigned for freedom of information to combat endemic corruption blighting the impoverished nation.

"This is a gesture we are sure not only media but everybody who believes (in) transparency and accountability... and democracy highly appreciates," the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said in a statement.

The order, covering all central government offices, requires them to make public records, meetings, research and any information requested by a member of the public, except for matters affecting national security, Andanar said.

The order does not cover the legislature and judiciary. Local governments are "encouraged to observe and be guided by this order," copies of the document said.

A proposed law imposing freedom of information procedures on public bodies nationwide, including Congress and the courts, has remained stuck in the legislature for years.

Senator Grace Poe, an advocate of the freedom of information bill, said that Duterte´s move "is already indeed a milestone".

"There are a lot of things that we need to continue with regard to the freedom of information in other branches of government but we await with much anticipation that full implementation in the executive branch," she said in a statement.