Transparency Board

TRANSPARENCY SEAL

Marcelo Green Elementary School Compliance with Sec. 93 (Transparency Seal) R.A. No. 11465 (General Appropriations Act FY 2020)

Symbolism

A pearl buried inside a tightly-shut shell is practically worthless. Government information is a pearl, meant to be shared with the public in order to maximize its inherent value.

The Transparency Seal, depicted by a pearl shining out of an open shell, is a symbol of a policy shift towards openness in access to government information. On the one hand, it hopes to inspire Filipinos in the civil service to be more open to citizen engagement; on the other, to invite the Filipino citizenry to exercise their right to participate in governance. This initiative is envisioned as a step in the right direction towards solidifying the position of the Philippines as the Pearl of the Orient – a shining example for democratic virtue in the region.

Sec. 93. Transparency Seal. To enhance transparency and enforce accountability, all national government agencies shall maintain a transparency seal on their official websites. The transparency seal shall contain the following information:

(i) the agency’s mandates and functions, names of its officials with their position and designation, and contact information;

(ii) approved budgets and corresponding targets, immediately upon approval of this Act;

(iii) modifications made pursuant to the general and special provisions in this Act;

(iv) annual procurement plan/s and contracts awarded with the winning supplier, contractor or consultant;

(v) major programs and projects categorized in accordance with the five key results areas under E.O No. 43, s. 2011, as amended, and their target beneficiaries;

(vi) status of implementation, evaluation or assessment reports of said programs or projects;

(vii) Budget and Financial Accountability Reports;

(viii) People’s Freedom to Information (FOI) Manual signed by head of agency, Agency Information Inventory, 2018 and 2019 FOI Summary Report and 2018 and 2019 FOI Registry; and

(ix) annual reports on the status of income authorized by law to be retained and/or used and be deposited outside of the National Treasury, which shall include the legal basis for its retention and/or use, the beginning balance, income collected and its sources, expenditures, and ending balance for the preceding fiscal year.

A Transparency Seal, prominently displayed on the main page of the website of a particular government agency, is a certificate that it has complied with the requirements of Section 93. This Seal links to a page within the agency’s website which contains an index of downloadable items of each of the above-mentioned documents.