Pasig City showcases initiatives on FOI, GAD

Pasig City is shaping itself into a new standard for local transparency and gender development.

At the 2024 BaLinkBayan Stakeholders Conference on Thursday, Ugnayan sa Pasig Freedom of Information (FOI) Office head Ma. Rowena Dimanlig said Pasig was the first in Metro Manila to pass an FOI bill in 2018.

She added that their office, established in 2019, not only provides information, but also encourages citizen participation.

“Hindi lang po kami tanungan ng impormasyon kung hindi pwede din po pagsumbungan… [Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto] firmly believes that without transparency, there can be no effective governance. We need to hear the voice of the people in order to craft the appropriate ordinance and policies that will respond effectively sa mga hinaing ng tao,” said Dimanlig.

The Ugnayan sa Pasig FOI office manages inquiries for information, receives citizen complaints and grievances, and has dedicated itself to “maintaining honesty” for their clients.

With a total of 17 personnel, the Pasig City FOI office has responded to 29,189 FOI complaints and inquiries from January to May of 2024.

“Para po kaming (We are like a) customer service desk. We respond to 400,000 households,” she shared.

Their services include providing information on Pasig City employees and departments, city planning and developments, city budget, local transportation concerns, city information, market administration, city engineering, local policies and codes, and health concerns.

Complaints or requests are coursed through their officers for initial evaluation before being transmitted to a decision maker for approval or denial.

Approved requests are transmitted back to the requestor, while denied requests may be appealed to the mayor’s office or the concerned office.

Pasig City FOI is accessible through social media, mobile, or personal correspondence in their office.

Since its establishment in 2019, the office had also been awarded as one of the top 10 FOI offices by the Presidential Communications Operations Office and named as one of the top performing offices in Pasig City.

“Ugnayan sa Pasig [is also] the very first LGU na nakasama sa portal ng (to be included in the porta of) PCOO ,” Dimanlig said.

Their staff continue to undergo the necessary training to improve their capacity and skills to resolve requests and complaints filed by residents.

Meanwhile, Pasig City is also one of the first local government units to establish a Gender and Development (GAD) Agenda.

Pasig City GAD office Executive Assistant Jose Rey Espina outlined the five items in their agenda:

• Social Development Rights: Enhancing the quality-of-life gender-responsive policies and programs
• Economic Empowerment: Building competitive and inclusive economy, and resilient infrastructure
• Gender Environment and Climate Change: Fostering an ecologically balanced environment
• Gender in Security, Justice & Peace: achieving a peaceful gender-inclusive society with human rights and justice
• Gender-Responsive Governance: Strengthening a responsive, transparent, and accountable administration

“The overall goal of the Pasig Gender and Development is to achieve an inclusive and equitable Pasig City for all genders where all residents have equal opportunities to thrive in all aspects of life, characterized by economic prosperity, environmental sustainability, and resilient infrastructure, facilitated by responsive and accountable governance systems,” said Espina.

Among the currently implemented ordinances and programs under the Pasig City GAD are the Gender and Development Code, establishment of PRIDE and Development Council and the Local Council of Women, passage and expansions of an Anti-Discrimination Ordinance and Safe Spaces Ordinances.

Under Sotto’s administration, the GAD office also established a Gender Mainstreaming Strategy to enlist other offices to aid in implementing the GAD agenda.

The current agenda is applicable for the next three years.

“[Pasig is] leading the way in gender-inclusive and participatory governance, empowering all citizens and ensuring that policies reflect the needs of everyone in the community. This drive is creating a more equitable, transparent, and sustainable future for the city,” Espina said.

Pasig City strives for further inclusivity and the establishment of equal gender representation in governance. 

Pasig City is set to sign a BaLinkBayan Memorandum of Agreement with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas in September 2024.—AOL, GMA Integrated News