The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority was honored with the Hall of Fame award for winning the Freedom of Information, Agency Category, for the third consecutive year on Wednesday.
The FOI Awards are an annual event aimed at recognizing the contributions of government offices in the Executive branch—including government-owned and controlled corporations, state universities and colleges and local water districts—in the program initiated by the Presidential Communications Operations Office.
MMDA chairman Danilo Lim, together with the agency’s FOI Committee, accepted the award bestowed by PCOO Secretary Jose Ruperto Martin Andanar and FOI Program Director Assistant Secretary Kris Ablan at the 2020 FOI Awards on Nov. 25 held at the ASEAN Theater at the Philippine Information Agency in Diliman, Quezon City.
“We are humbled to be one of the first-ever agencies to receive the Hall of Fame Award for being the FOI Champion for three straight years now. The recognition we have received will serve as additional motivation to continue the work that we do for the people.” Lim said in his acceptance speech.
“As long as I am in MMDA, FOI will remain a priority of the Agency. I believe that the government must actively promote transparency and citizen empowerment through open access to information.”
Meanwhile, The Labor department was conferred the hall of fame award for besting other national government agencies for three consecutive years as Freedom of Information champion.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III vowed to lead the DOLE in the continuing quest of empowering the people through information following his acceptance of the prestigious awards as FOI champion and Hall of Famer.
And for the second year in a row, the Bureau of Immigration was cited for championing freedom of information due to its high rate of response to requests for information from the public.
The bureau was one of several government agencies that received a freedom of information award. It was given the award for being one of the agencies that acted on 50 to 249 requests and resolved at least 90 percent of the requests for information from the public.
Lim acknowledged the PCOO’s earnest effort to provide the public much needed information especially during the pandemic.