March 20, 2023
Dear Francis Surtida,
Greetings!
Thank you for your request dated Mar 16, 2023 03:44:46 PM under Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016) on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch.
Your Request
You asked for MRT-4 Alignment.
Response to Request
Your FOI request is approved. I enclose a copy of MRT Line 4 Alignment Map.
For item no. 2 &3 please refer to the response below;
Pursuant to the State policy to full disclosure, subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law and the Constitutional right of people to information on matters of public concern, Executive Order No. 2, series of 2016 ("E.O. No. 2"). was issued ordering the access of every Filipino to information, official records, public records and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development. The right to access to information is however limited and shall be denied when the information falls under any of the exceptions enshrined in the Constitution, existing law or jurisprudence.
Relative thereto, an Inventory of Exceptions was issued by the Office of the President for the guidance of all government offices and instrumentalities covered by E.O. No. 2 and the general public. The list is without prejudice to existing laws, jurisprudence, rules or regulations authorizing the disclosure of the excepted information upon satisfaction of certain conditions in certain cases.
After careful review of relevant laws, rules, orders and regulations, we submit the following comments and observations on your request for information regarding the timeline and phases and area of the project for the MRT4 of the Department.
The requested information cannot be disclosed. The Department, being the recipient of the subject study, has the duty to safeguard the trade or industrial secrets against competitors of said individuals, consulting firms, and institutions.
Furthermore, kindly note that the consultants commissioned to conduct the research holds copyrights over the work, and as such, the study would not be for the Department to distribute.
The MRT4 Project contains matters covered by deliberative process privilege under the Inventory of Exceptions, E.O. 2 (s.2016)."
Your right to request a review
If you are unhappy with this response to your FOI request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response by writing to Secretary Jaime J. Bautista at
[email protected]. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made within 15 calendar days from the date when you received this letter. We will complete the review and tell you the result within 30 calendar days from the date when we receive your review request.
If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Office of the President under Administrative Order No. 22 (s. 2011).
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Kriscia Mallari
FOI Receiving Officer
