ERC updates freedom of information manual

BY LENIE LECTURA – APRIL 19, 2023
from Business Mirror

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) met with representatives of the Freedom of Information-Program Management Office (FOI-PMO) of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) to discuss the agency’s updated Freedom of Information (FOI) manual.

ERC Chairperson Monalisa C. Dimalanta said on Tuesday that her office facilitated the FOI consultation system and re-launching of the agency’s updated FOI manual.

“The commission cannot sufficiently underscore the importance of exercises like this. This is an affirmation of the ERC’s commitment to enhance the accessibility of information to the public.

Through the years, the ERC has implemented policies that promoted transparency by enabling the public to gain access to ERC’s orders, decisions, resolutions, and other issuances, encouraging public participation in the hearings conducted by the Commission, and providing relevant information for the consumers,”  Dimalanta said in a statement.

The updated ERC FOI manual introduced necessary revisions to incorporate the new guidelines pertaining to the FOI manual. These include the Vexatious Freedom of Information Requests and Abuse of Rights; and “No Wrong Door Policy for FOI” of the PCO. It focused on streamlining the process to ensure that all requests for information are efficiently handled by the ERC.

The resource speakers from the FOI-PMO discussed reinforcement and compliance requirements, workflow, turnaround time, data privacy, feedback mechanisms and a walkthrough on the Electronic FOI Portal, the ERC said.

In the past years, the ERC has been a recipient of Certificate of Compliance in recognition of its full compliance with the FOI requirements.