MANILA, Philippines - A bill that would give the people the right to information and promote the state policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions has been approved on the third and final reading by the Senate.

Twelve voted in favor Senate Bill 3308 also known as the ?Freedom of Information Act of 2009.?

Under the bill, government agencies are mandated to make available to the public ?scrutiny, copying and reproduction, all information pertaining to official acts, transactions as well as government research data used as basis for policy development regardless of their physical form or format in which they are contained and by whom they were made.?

Access to information may be denied on the following grounds;

* When the information specifically authorized to be kept secret under guidelines established by an executive order.

* The information requested pertains to internal and external defense and law enforcement, when the revelation thereof would render a legitimate military or police station ineffective, unduly compromise the prevention, detection or suppression of a criminal activity, or endanger the life or physical safety of confidential or protected sources or witnesses, law enforcement and military personnel or their immediate families.

* The information requested pertains to the personal information of a natural person other than the requesting party and its disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of his or her personal privacy.

* The information requested pertains to trade, industrial, financial or commercial secrets of a natural or juridical person other than the requesting party.

* The information is privileged from production in legal proceedings by law or by the rules of court unless the person entitled to the privilege has waived it.

* The information requested is exempted by law or the Constitution.

* The information requested is obtained by any committee of either House of Congress in executive session.

* When the information requested consists of drafts of decisions by any executive, administrative, judicial or quasi-judicial body in the exercise of their adjudicatory functions whenever the revelation thereof would reasonably tend to impair the impartiality of verdicts or otherwise obstruct the administration of justice.

But even if the information was covered by the aforementioned exceptions, the bill pointed out that access to information should not be denied when; First, the information may be reasonably severed from the body of the information which would be subject to the exceptions; second, the public interest in the disclosure outweighs the harm to the interest sought to be protected by the exceptions or the requesting party is either House of Congress or any of its committees and the disclosure is to be made in executive session, unless the disclosure will constitute a violation of the Constitution.

?If the government agency decided to deny the request, in whole or in part, it shall within seven days from the receipt of the request, notify the person making the request if such denial in writing or through electronic means ,? the bill further stated.

A penalty of no less than one month but not more than six months awaits those who would violate the propose legislation.