Freedom of Information campus caravan held in Dumaguete City

DUMAGUETE CITY— More than 200 representatives from national and local government offices, civil society organizations, nongovernment organizations, academe, media, and other community stakeholders in Negros Oriental gathered at the Silliman University Hall in Dumaguete City, November 27-28 for the multi-sectoral roadshow and campus caravan on Freedom of Information (FOI) led by The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).

The multi-sectoral forum is expected to explain the salient features of FOI. The FOI program is an initiative of the government to enable the public to access government data or information.

Gov. Roel Degamo, in his keynote message, encouraged government functionaries to make available data and information that are relevant to the people’s well-being and development. Degamo said the FOI is used for transparency in government offices, accountability in public officials, academic research, and innovation of programs and projects.

Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMs) Executive Director, USEC Joel Sy Egco and PCOO Assistant Secretary and FOI Philippines Program Director Atty. Kristian Ablan talked on “Safeguarding Press Freedom in the Philippines.”

Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Atty. Marvin Gatpayat and Assistant Secretary for the Office of Brand Integration Ramon L. Cualoping III shared their expertise on the many aspects of FOI.

Ablan discussed the FOI and educate the members of the academe on their right to information and promote FOI program as a tool for academic research during Thursday’s FOI Campus Caravan exclusively conducted for over 250 faculty and students from the various universities and colleges in Dumaguete.