Section 3.6 Designation of at least one personnel / staff: Every public authority and
private entity to which this Act applies shall appoint, maintain and duly support at least
one designated personnel/staff whose overall responsibility shall be to receive requests
for information held by the authority or entity and coordinate the response(s) of the
authority or entity to all such requests. The designated personnel / staff shall serve as
the primary contact of the authority or agency with the public relative to request for and
provision of information, and his responsibilities shall include promoting best practices in
record maintenance, storage, and management, and assisting members of the public,
especially illiterate and other physically challenged persons, to file requests for
information.
Section 3.7 Prompt Response to Information Request: Every public authority and
private entity shall promptly respond to all requests for information it receives, be it by
post, e-mail, or hand delivery.
Section 3.8 Documentary acknowledgement of Request: Upon the receipt of every
request, a public authority or private entity shall acknowledge the request in writing and
advise the requester of the maximum number of days it shall take to respond to the
request.
Section 3.9 Maximum period for responding to Requests: Every public authority and
private entity shall respond to every request for information within thirty (30) calendar
days; provided that this period shall be extended once upon showing of a reasonable
cause.
Section 3.10 Response to request defined: A response to a request for information may
consist of one of the followings: (1) timely provision of the requested information; (2)
denial of the request; (3) transfer of the request.
Section 3.11 Provision of Requested information: The search for and provision of
requested information shall be done free of charge to the requester, but a public entity
may charge such amount as is necessary to cover actual cost of photocopying,
transcribing, scanning or other forms of reproduction.
Section 3.12 Denial of Requests: A request for information, including to inspect, review
or reproduce the information, may be lawfully denied only if it is within one of the
exemptions provided in Chapter 4 of this Act. A denial of a request and the reason
thereof shall be in writing and served the requester no later than 30 calendar days as of
the receipt of the request.
Section 3.13 Transfer of Requests: In the event a public authority or private entity
receives a request relating to information not held by the authority or entity, such
authority or entity shall, with notice to the requester, automatically transfer the request
to the public authority or private entity known or believed to hold the requested
information.
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