Department of Justice

MEMORANDUM

TO		:	Mr. HOWARD JOSEPH	

THRU	:	Ms. IRENE DULIN
			FOI Officer

SUBJECT	:	QUERY ON THE EMAIL SENT TO AND FROM SEC. 
VITALIANO N. AGUIRRE’S EMAIL CONTAINING THE TERMS “LEILA DE LIMA” AND “LIBERAL PARTY” FROM JUNE 30, 2016 TO FEBRUARY 27, 2017

DATE	:	04 MARCH 2017

Greetings!

This refers to the query you sent through the eFoi portal last 27 February 2017 requesting for a copy of emails containing the terms “Leila De Lima” and “Liberal Party” sent to and from vnaguirre@doj.gov.ph, which is the designated email address of Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II.

In this regard, we regret to inform you that your request cannot be granted, because all emails sent to or received from the designated email address of Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II, who is a public official, are considered classified being official communications. 

Pursuant to Section 4 of Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016), the Office of the President gave nine (9) exceptions to the right to access information for the guidance of all government offices and instrumentalities covered by EO No. 2 (s. 2016) and the public in general.

Subject to the Memorandum from the Executive Secretary dated 24 November 2016, paragraph 5 and paragraph 5 (p) of the exceptions to right of access to information are hereby reproduced for reference, as follows:

5. Information documents or records known by reason of official capacity and are deemed as confidential, including those submitted or disclosed by entities to government agencies, tribunals, or officers, in relation to the performance of their functions, or to inquiries or investigation conducted by them in the exercise of their administration, regulatory or quasi-judicial powers.

x x x

	p. Any secret, valuable or proprietary information of a confidential character known to a public officer, or secrets of private individuals. (Emphasis supplied.)

x x x

In connection with the above-mentioned provisions, Article 229 of the Revised Penal Code prohibits the revelation of secrets by an officer, thus:

Article 229. Revelation of secrets by an officer. - Any public officer who shall reveal any secret known to him by reason of his official capacity, or shall wrongfully deliver papers or copies of papers of which he may have charge and which should not be published, shall suffer the penalties of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods, perpetual special disqualification and a fine not exceeding 2,000 pesos if the revelation of such secrets or the delivery of such papers shall have caused serious damage to the public interest; otherwise, the penalties of prision correccional in its minimum period, temporary special disqualification and a fine not exceeding 50 pesos shall be imposed. (Emphasis supplied.)

x x x

It is noteworthy that under Section 3 of R.A. No. 3019, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, divulging of valuable information of a confidential character by a public official is likewise prohibited. 

Section 3. Corrupt practices of public officers. In addition to acts or omissions of public officers already penalized by existing law, the following shall constitute corrupt practices of any public officer and are hereby declared to be unlawful:

x x x

(k) Divulging valuable information of a confidential character, acquired by his office or by him on account of his official position to unauthorized persons, or releasing such information in advance of its authorized release date. (Emphasis ours.)

x x x

In view of the foregoing, any information being sent and/or received by the official email address of Sec. Vitaliano N. Aguirre II are confidential in nature, thus, cannot be divulged. The Secretary of Justice is not at liberty to disclose matters which are related or necessarily connected with his official functions. The emails whether containing the terms “Leila De Lima” and/or “Liberal Party” are not for public disclosure. 

Divulging any information will and can make the good Secretary liable for violation of the Revised Penal Code, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Foregoing premises considered, your request for information cannot be granted.

We hope that this sufficiently answers your question. 

Thank you and God bless you!

							
ATTY. ERICKSON H. BALMES
Undersecretary