A concerned Boholano citizen has invoked the right to information under the Freedom of Information Act, launching an inquiry on the employment status of members of OGAR, or Office of Government Accountability and Review.
Donald Borja Sevilla, lead convenor of Boholanos Against Corruption Kasingkasing Bol-anon Movement, in a letter to Bohol Gov. Aris Aumentado, also sought copies of the employment contracts/appointments of the members of OGAR.
Sevilla said that since OGAR was created by the Office of the Governor, there is a need to establish “once and for all their legality as members of the Provincial Government’s bureaucracy whether as JOs, consultants and in whatever capacity as this has caused a cloud of doubt in the minds of the Boholano public.”
“Said office is promoting transparency and accountability in governance and it is but fitting that it be an example of the same, especially that public funds are allocated for (their) operation,” Sevilla said in his letter to the governor.
In response to Sevilla’s letter, the Office of the Governor made a reply on March 11, 2023, signed by Chief of Staff Atty. Filipina Asoy-Piollo.
In her letter, Atty. Piollo stated the very subject he was inquiring about is one of the issues now pending before the court.
She said the court had issued a gag order which prohibits the discussion of the case and the issues outside the confines of the judicial process.
Atty. Piollo advised that it is best that they await the outcome of the above-mentioned case.
But Sevilla, in a reply letter this week, disagreed with Piollo’s opinion.
He said his inquiry has nothing to do with any case, saying he is merely inquiring about the employment status of OGAR members “as a matter of public transparency granted in the Freedom of Information law.”
Sevilla appealed for reconsideration based on several grounds.
He stated that in the letter reply signed by the Chief of Staff “it cannot be ascertained if it carried the weight and authority of the Governor’s office as it did not categorically state so” when the letter was addressed directly to him.
Sevilla pointed out that Larry Pamugas’ petition for certiorari against the actions of OGAR is “irrelevant to his request and has no bearing on it as these are two different matters.”
He said that the subject matter of his request pertains to the appointments of individual members of OGAR to determine their status that entitles them to be such “as there are no clear criteria nor guidelines that warrant their being part of the government bureaucracy vested with powers to oversee/review functions/actions made by regular employees in the conduct of their jobs.”
Sevilla argued that individual members of OGAR have been given their posts arbitrarily at the Governor’s discretion, hence as a matter of accountability, the public needs to know their status and how they qualify as such and why not just anyone.
He stressed that the information he is seeking falls well within the ambit of freedom of information wherein disclosure of the same poses no threat to national security, danger to life or is an interest inimical to the government.
“On the contrary, it promotes transparency, good governance and accountability in furtherance of the intended purpose for which said office was created,” Sevilla said in his reply-letter.
