Laws and regulations governing public recordsWhat are Public Records?While most of the Public records are records information fled under that are meant to be made the category of public records are made available to the public at available free of cost large on demand. on demand, some records might be provided upon paying a nominal fee. What Do Public Records Do?a. Document actions, decisions, policies and proceduresb. Provide legal evidencec. Audit trail d. For accountability e. Preserve corporate memory Some exceptions, to making records public: a. ecords that relate to national security, e.g. classifed documents that the government may refuse to produce in court cases or for !ongressional hearings, such as those dealing with military plans and diplomatic strategy.b. ecords whose contents, if made public, couldinvade the privacy of an individual who has bro"enno laws #personnel fles, for instance, or income ta$ records% c. ecords restricted for reason of public order and safety, such as Police and other records that relate to the investigation of a yet&unsolved crime , and records whose disclosure would endanger the life and safety of an individuald. 'ther limitations to public access (AP )eneral !ircular (o. * #+an ,-, ,--.% What factors afect public access to records?a. Laws and legislations to guarantee access to informationb. Administrative and /udicial remedies in case of nondisclosure by governmentc. !ulture of transparencyd. 0nformation infrastructure #using technology to store, retrieve and disseminate information%e. Poor state of record"eepingf. 1trong and vigilant advocacy What is Right to Information?2he constitutional right to information on matters of public concern frst gained recognition in the 3ill of ights, 1ec. 4 of the*.54 !onstitution with the addition of the phrase, 6aswell as to government research data used as basisfor policy development.6 a. 2he new provision reads7 2he right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recogni8ed. Access to o9cial records, and to documents, and papers pertaining to o9cial acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis. for policy development, shall be a:orded the citi8en, sub/ect to such limitations as may be provided by law. What is Right to Information?0n addition, the !onstitution #Article , 1ection ,5% mandates the 1tate to adopt and implement ;a policy of full disclosure of all transactions involving public interest.< = 'n top of the !onstitution, !ongress passed a law #epublic Act >4*?% that provided a code of conduct for public o9cials which obliges the government to release information on other matters of public concern and compels public o9cials to disclose their assets and liabilities, among other duties. ational !rchi"es of the PhilippinesA .@4- AAn Act to 1trengthen the 1ystem of Banagement and Administration of Archival ecords, Cstablishing for the Purpose the (ational Archives of the Philippines and for other Purposes Approved on Bay ,*, ,--4 !ontains 4 Articles and D- 1ectionsational !rchi"es #andate;All public records with enduring value, held by government o9ces, including, but not limited to, all branches of government, constitutional o9ces, local government units #L)Es%, government&owned and & controlled corporations #)'!!s%, state universities and colleges, Philippine embassies, consulates and other Philippine o9ces abroad shall be transferred to a permanent government repository for proper management, control and regulation of record disposition.< Art. *, 1ection ,, CPE3L0! A!2 ('. .@4- #Bay ,--4% ational !rchi"es $unctionsa. Plan, formulate and implement a records management and archival administration program Fincluding the adoption of security measures and vital records protection program for the governmentGb. )ive technical assistance to all branches of government in the planning, implementation and evaluation of their public records management and archives administration programsGc. !onduct training programs on records and archives managementd. Heep a registry of all public records for public inspection Cstablish, maintain, operate regional archives and records centers andIor provide technical assistance to government agencies on the establishment of agency records centers. Purpose of ational !rchi"es of the Philippines2his Act is primarily aimed at7a. 1trengthening the e$isting system of management and administration of government archival recordsGb. Defning the role of the e$ecutive director in developing and supporting government records "eeping, including independent determinations on the disposal of public records and certain local government archivesGc. Bandating government accountability in ensuring that full and accurate records of the a:airs of national government and the L)Es are maintained and preservedGd. Cnhancing public confdence in the integrity of public records "eeping and managementGe. Cnsuring the accessibility of public records that are relevant to the promotion and preservation of Philippine cultural heritageG andf. 1upporting the safe"eeping of private records.ational !rchi"es: #anagement of Public Records #Art. ?% reJuires all government o9ces to7a. establish their own archives and records o9ceIunit in coordination with the D3B and the (ational Archives b. be sub/ect to registration and accreditation, a regular audit c. regularly conduct an inventory of their public records d. prepare and submit a records disposition schedule in the prescribed form based on the general records disposition schedule formulated by (AP prescribing the disposal of public records common to all government o9ces e. obtain prior written authority of the e$ecutive director of (AP before disposal or destruction of any public records. In"entor% of Public RecordsAll government o9ces shall be mandated to "eep the following data in their respective registry7 a. All public records under its custody b. All public records transferred to the (ational ArchivesG c. Public records disposed of with authority d. Data of deferred transfer under 1ec. ,*G and e. A public access register that contains information on7 *. estrictions on public access to public records imposed under 1ec. ?*#g% ,. Prohibitions imposed under 1ec. ?> on public access to public archives or protected records under the control of the e$ecutive directorG ?. 2he grounds for the prohibitions and restrictions stipulated under 1ections ?> and ?4 @. 2he conditions agreed to under 1ec. ,? hereof as to public access for protected records is transferred to the control of the e$ecutive director. Public records ma% be classi&ed as:(AP )eneral !ircular (o. * #+an ,-, ,--.%What are protected recordsK1ec. ,? of A .@4-. Protected ecords of Local )overnments. & #a% 2he e$ecutive director may, by notice in the '9cial )a8ette made after consultation with any local government concerned, declare that a local government record is a protected record for purposes of this Act. L)Es shall provide for the adeJuate protection and preservation of a protected record they hold, and cannot dispose it without authori8ation and approval. 'ransfer of Public RecordseJuires all government o9ces to transfer to (AP7a. archival materials or collections of any government o9ce which are more than thirty #?-% years old and which can no longer be maintained and preservedb. noncurrent public records that, in the /udgment of the e$ecutive director, are of permanent and enduring archival valuec. public records of a government o9ce that ceases to e$istIfunction as a public o9ced. (oncurrent public records of a government o9ce that has thirty #?-% years L retention periods #including inactive personnel records% Who #a% 'ransfer Public Records a. A person having custody of public records, at the e$piration of hisIher term of o9ce or employment shall deliver to hisIher successor, or if there is none, to the (ational Archives of the Philippines, all public records in hisIher custody. b. 2ransfer of Public ecords Public records shall be surrendered on demand7c. Public records, in the possession of a private person who has special permission to "eep and C$cept if the head of the handle records in the course government o9ce has of his o9cial duties, which permitted the person referred in the opinion of the to in the immediately e$ecutive director are or preceding subsection to retain li"ely to be of permanent possession of the record. and enduring archival valueDisposal of Public Records(AP )eneral !ircular (o. , #+an ,-, ,--.% provides guidelines on the disposal of valueless records in government agencies. )eneral rule ?.5 Do not dispose fnancialrecords sub/ect of audit until they are post& audited and fnally settled.Penalties for (iolations)a. Any public o9cer committing any of the unlawful acts or omissions mandated under this Act shall be punished by i. a fne of not less than Five hundred thousand pesos #PD--,---.--% but not e$ceeding 'ne million pesos #Pl,---,---.--% orGii. be imprisoned for not less than fve years but not more than ffteen #*D% yearsGiii. andIor both fne and imprisonment at the discretion of the court without pre/udice to the fling of administrative charges that would result to such public o9cerMs perpetual disJualifcation from public o9ce, and forfeiture, in favor of the government, of his salary and other lawful income.b. 2he violation of the provision of 1ection @@ proven in a proper administrative proceeding shall be su9cient cause for removal or dismissal of a public o9cer, even if no criminal prosecution is instituted against him.c. A person convicted of an o:ense under 1ection @@ may, in addition to any penalty imposed for violation, be prohibited by order of the court from having access to the (ational Archives for any period that the court deems appropriate.