PDEA elated by nomination in 1st FOI awards

FILE: PDEA Director General Aaron N. Aquino (Photo by PDEA)

MANILA — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is honored to be nominated during the 1st Freedom of Information (FOI) Awards Ceremony held in Rizal Park Hotel, Manila, its chief said Wednesday.

“The nomination was given to PDEA in recognition of its contribution to the FOI programs, progress and development,” PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino said in a statement.

“Nomination alone is a distinction itself. We are privileged to be recognized as one of the government organizations in upholding the people’s right to information on matters of public concern,” he added.

Proclaimed winners after a year of FOI implementation nationwide were the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), department category; Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), agency category; National Housing Authority (NHA), government-owned and/or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) category; and the University of the Philippines (UP), state universities and colleges (SUCs) category.

The awarding ceremony was organized by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) under Secretary Martin Andanar, the lead agency in the implementation of FOI in the Executive Branch. The PCOO has conducted a thorough nomination and screening process to determine the FOI awardees.

The FOI Award aims to recognize the notable contributions of government departments and attached agencies, including GOCCs, SUCs, and local government units (LGUs), to the growth of the FOI program.

Guests who attended the event were Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, and Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

Other speakers in the event were Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, House of Representatives Public Information Chair Congresswoman Bernadette Herrera-Dy, and FOI Program Director and PCOO Assistant Secretary Kristian Ablan.