MANILA CITY – The Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) was once again recognized by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in the awarding ceremony of the 2022 Freedom of Information (FOI) Awards on 25 November 2022 as streamed live via Facebook.

The BLGF is among the twelve (12) top requested and performing agencies in the electronic FOI (eFOI) portal for the category with at least 90% closed transactions for 250 to 499 received requests. The Department of Finance (DOF) attached agencies, namely, Insurance Commission (IC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), on the other hand, were awarded in the category of 500 to 999 received requests with at least 90% closed transactions.

The FOI Awards is a yearly undertaking aimed to recognize the efforts of government agencies, organizations, and individuals that contributed to the FOI program’s development and progress in the Executive branch.

FOI Program Management Office (PMO) Program Director Ms. Krizia Casey P. Avejar, in an opening message, emphasized the critical role of public servants in institutionalizing the FOI and upholding the tenets of good governance through the right to information.

“As we are slowly reaching our goal of institutionalizing FOI, we call on everyone.Let us continue to persevere and promote the right of every Filipino to exercise the right to access public information and build a nation of smart and well-informed citizenry”, Avejar said.

BLGF OIC Executive Director Ma. Pamela P. Quizon congratulated the efforts and initiatives of the BLGF’s Deputy Executive Directors, Service Directors and action officers in charge of the eFOI portal during the BLGF Flag Ceremony on 28 November 2022.

Anchored on the theme “Championing Access to Information Towards a Connected, Empowered, and Inclusive Nation”, the 2022 FOI Awards is inspired by the new leadership of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and its significance to the Filipino people. According to PIA Director-General Ramon L. Qualoping III, “bridging information and connecting the nation has been our unceasing battle cry for this year’s FOI implementation. Our learnings from our past practices have seen the need to connect our citizens and the government and empower them to actively participate in government affairs”.

In 2017, during the first-year celebration of the FOI program implementation, the BLGF was lauded with the quickest response within a day for a citizen’s FOI request. BLGF was also recognized as 2020 FOI awardee for closing at least 90% of transactions for 50 to 249 received requests, with Ms Rosalia B. Naranjo, Administrative Officer V (Records Officer III), earning the special citation as Best FOI Officer.