Robredo was pioneer in using the web for transparency

Even as the government continues to deliberate the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill —which has been on the backburner in the Lower House since 2001— there have been a few forward-looking public servants who have thought to promote government transparency even beyond the real world, into cyberspace. (See related stories on the FOI Bill here and here.)

 

The late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo was one of them. He had been promoting transparency and free access to information long before there was a World Wide Web to speak of.

 

Even when he was a mayor of Naga City in the late eighties, Robredo emphasized the need for disclosure to his constituents, according to Transparency and Accountability Network convenor Vince Lazatin in a phone interview with GMA News Online.

 

"[Then] Mayor Robredo was probably one of the first mayors who posted and published financial documents of his city," Lazatin said. Robredo made the Naga City web site a powerful vehicle for transparency, where anyone with Internet access could monitor where the city's funds went. His city under his management was a trail-blazer in using online mapping, open source, and open geographic data to post government information, and made much of it downloadable.

Transparency at DILG  

Robredo's advocacy did not stop when he stepped down in 2010; he brought it with him when he was appointed to lead the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

 

"Transparency was at the core of his governance," Lazatin pointed out.

 

From the outset of his leadership, Robredo initiated reforms to promote transparency in local government.

 

On the Internet, for example, DILG made important initiatives to push the Aquino administration's "matuwid na daan" mantra through "transparency at work."

 

The "new" DILG website is one of the legacies left by the late Secretary Jesse Robredo, whose body was found on August 21 180 feet under the sea, after the plane crash on August 18. ^{The DILG website, circa 2008, before Robredo's term. Most of the content was comprised mostly of press releases and announcements. The website did, however, prominently feature the agency's SMS "hotline" in the lower bottom right corner. (Screengrab courtesy of Waaaayback Machine archive)The DILG website, circa 2012, as spearheaded by Robredo. Note the sections on "Transparency at Work", which features disclosures on the agency's funds. Not shown is the "Reports and Resources Archive" that contains various facts and figures about the agency. (Screengrab of current website as of August 24, 2012)}

 

"The whole website... siya [Sec. Robredo] mismo ang nag-approve ng design," said Director Maria Elena Robosa of the Electronic Data Processing Service of DILG in a phone interview with GMA News Online.

 

Although the website was created in 2005, several years before Robredo took charge of the agency, it underwent a major overhaul during his term.   

Among the innovations Robredo introduced was a section called "Transparency at Work." This section shows the status of funds of different DILG attached agencies including the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection. The section also contains the agency's budget appropriation —not unlike the disclosures found on the Department of Budget and Management's own website.

 

Robosa also said that while the late secretary Robredo wanted all the local government units to have their own site, even those local government units without one have their important documents posted on the main DILG website.

 

In fact, the lower portion of the home page has a Reports and Resources Archive Box which redirects the user to a page containing "LGU Full Disclosure Documents," accomplishment reports, regional hazard maps, and other facts and figures.

 

"Little by little, I think there is more compliance [in the full disclosure policy]," said Lazatin.

 

Robosa also said that the main website is not the only DILG project for its Internet visibility and transparency advocacy.

 

Robredo also initiated a "Performance Challenge Fund" (PCF) intended to give incentives to well-performing local government units, said Robosa.

 

The website says, "[PCF] is a facility envisioned to help stimulate local governments to put premium on transparency and accountability to enable them to avail themselves of financial support to jumpstart and sustain local socio-economic development initiatives supportive of national government goals and priorities."

 

Meanwhile, Robosa also mentioned that apart from the main website and the PCF, DILG is set to come out with an online portal for full disclosure of local government units, also as part of Robredo's transparency campaign.

 

Lazatin also said that while Robredo started the transparency campaign, the public should also take part in promoting transparency so the LGUs will not be reluctant in performing their duties.

 

"On one hand, Sec. Robredo did his part in issuing orders [to promote transparency]. But citizens should also demand it from their local government units," Lazatin said.  — TJD/HS, GMA News