The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) was conferred with the FOI Service Experience Award by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) during the 3rd FOI Multi-arts Festival Virtual Awarding last 28 September 2021, in celebration of the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). 

The FOI Service Experience Award is a customer-centric recognition based on feedback, comments, and assessments of the requesting parties on how agencies engaged customers and how they processed their FOI requests.

Aside from OWWA, the inaugural awardees for the FOI Service Experience Award were the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), and the DENR-Land Management Bureau (DENR-LMB).

In 2020, OWWA was recognized by PCOO as one of the agencies with 500 and above requests and with at least 90% closed transactions and was awarded with Special Citation for its effective disclosure of information amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We are thankful to the PCOO, headed by Secretary Martin Andanar, for recognizing OWWA’s efforts in the government’s campaign for freedom of information. This is another morale booster for us OWWAnians, amid the pandemic”, added Atty. Cacdac.

The FOI program is implemented pursuant to Executive Order No. 2 series of 2016 which operationalizes in the Executive branch the people’s right to information and ensure full public disclosure and transparency in the public service.

Source: OWWA