General Provisions Act FY 2019

A Transparency Seal, prominently displayed on the main page of the website of a particular government agency, is a certificate that it has complied with the requirements of Section 106. This Seal links to a page within the agency’s website which contains an index of downloadable items of each documents.

Sec. 106. Transparency Seal. To enhance transparency and enforce accountability, all national government agencies shall maintain a transparency seal on their official websites. The transparency seal shall contain the following information: (i) the agency’s mandates and functions, names of its officials with their position and designation, and contact information; (ii) approved budgets and corresponding

targets, immediately upon arrival of this Act; (iii) modifications made pursuant to the general and special provisions in this Act; (iv) annual procurement plan/s and contracts awarded with the winning supplier, contractor or consultant; (v) major activities or projects categorized in accordance with the 0+10 point socioeconomic agenda and their target beneficiaries; (vi) status of implementation, evaluation or assessment reports of said programs or projects; (vii) Budget and Financial Accountability Reports; (viii) Final People’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Manual signed by the head of agency, Agency Information Inventory, FOI Summary Report, and FOI Registry; and (ix) annual reports on the status of income authorized by law to be retained or used and be deposited outside of the National Treasury, which shall include the legal basis for its retention or use, the beginning balance, income collected and its sources, expenditures, and ending balance for the preceding fiscal year.

Symbolism

A pearl buried inside a tightly-shut shell is practically worthless. Government information is a pearl, meant to be shared with the public in order to maximize its inherent value. The Transparency Seal, depicted by a pearl shining out of an open shell, is a symbol of a policy shift towards openness in access to government information. On the one hand, it hopes to inspire Filipinos in the civil service to be more open to citizen engagement; on the other, to invite the Filipino citizenry to exercise their right to participate in governance. This initiative is envisioned as a step in the right direction towards solidifying the position of the Philippines as the Pearl of the Orient – a shining example for democratic virtue in the region.