Department of Labor and Employment(DOLE)

October 26, 2022 Dear Yasmin Angel Romero, Thank you for your request dated Oct 21, 2022 04:55:55 PM under Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016) on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch. You asked for Opinion on DOLE Order 174-17 and DOLE Circular 1-17. While FOI allows Filipino citizens to request any information about government transactions and operations, provided that it will not put into jeopardy privacy and matters of national security. Further, Republic Act No. 10173, otherwise known as the Data Privacy Act seeks to protect all forms of information, be it private, personal, or sensitive. It is meant to cover both natural and juridical persons involved in the processing of personal information. With regard to your request for copies of our opinions on DOLE Order 174-17 and DOLE Circular 1-17, it is with regret that we could not provide you with such as this will run contrary to the provisions of FOI Inventory of Exceptions and Data Privacy Act. This is also to inform you also that exceptions to registration of contractors to DO 174-17 are decided on a case to case basis based on relevant information at hand. As a general rule, opinions are rendered based on the facts that were presented. Any information unique to establishments could bring about a different opinion. Hence, the DOLE opinion(s) on this matter varies. For request of exceptions to DO 174-17, you may write us through email with the required documents. 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 our Secretary. 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, Mark Valeros FOI Receiving Officer