PRIVACY OR PRETEXT?: City Hall under fire for ‘hiding’ project docs amid good governance claim

1 of 3

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Is the city government of Iloilo hiding something?

Anti-corruption advocates are raising alarm over City Hall’s use of the Data Privacy Act of 2012 to justify withholding public documents related to two controversial city-funded infrastructure projects under scrutiny for alleged overpricing.

The projects in question, implemented under former Mayor Jerry Treñas, are the ongoing PHP 4.1-million improvement of the pedestrian overpass along Diversion Road in Barangay San Rafael, Mandurriao, and the completed waiting shed in Barangay Katilingban, Molo, which cost nearly PHP 800,000.

Despite repeated requests from various Iloilo media organizations since late September, the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) has yet to release the procurement documents, particularly those of the waiting shed.

The city government cited the Data Privacy Act in not outrightly giving the documents of the projects.

Iloilo City currently has no Freedom of Information ordinance, leaving citizens and stakeholders with no guaranteed legal access to government-held information.

Dr. Cielo Magno, former undersecretary of the Department of Finance, said City Hall’s use of the Data Privacy Act is baseless.

“All government information is public information, so I don’t think the local government can invoke the Data Privacy Act in this case,” she said in an interview on October 18.

“The public is entitled to have a copy of the contract and the total budget that was used to construct these two projects. There’s no space for data privacy in this case,” she added.

Magno stressed that when the city government tries to conceal some of the information, it reduces transparency, which is crucial for public scrutiny, accountability, and trust in governance.

“When there’s an attempt to conceal information, then there’s an attempt to—or it increases the likelihood of—corruption,” she emphasized.

Former Commission on Audit Commissioner Heidi Mendoza added that data privacy cannot be applied because these are public information, and even the Constitution guarantees citizens access to information.

Mendoza explained that the situation is different when there is a fraud investigation report, where certain information may be redacted.

“But if this is a contract and it shows a design, it speaks about how the city, who is entrusted with the people’s money, disposed of the public funds. I don’t understand why they are citing data privacy,” she said.

Raoul Manuel, an Ilonggo and the former Kabataan Partylist representative, said it is “backward thinking” to invoke data privacy to deny media access to public documents.

“The challenge in the Iloilo City government is if we claim that we are for good governance, if we claim that there is no corruption in the city of Iloilo, we should walk the talk,” he highlighted.

Manuel added that, based on his observations, the city government has been selective in identifying which projects should be investigated, often depending on political alignment and allegiances.

On October 6, Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu said the two projects implemented during her father’s administration are under review.

City Councilor Johnny Young, chairperson of the Sangguniang Panglungsod’s Engineering and Public Works Committee, said the CEO has to explain first the materials used in the two projects before deciding whether to launch a formal investigation.

Daily Guardian has sought a comment from Joy Fantilaga, Treñas-Chu’s spokesperson, regarding updates on the review or investigation, but has yet to receive a response.