Law School Noob: [CASE DIGEST] IDEALS v. PSALM (G.R. No. 192088)

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

[CASE DIGEST] IDEALS v. PSALM (G.R. No. 192088)

October 9, 2012 | G.R. No. 192088

Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services, Inc. (IDEAL, Inc.), et al., petitioners

Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., et al. (PSALM), respondents

FACTS:

PSALM is a GOCC mandated by RA 9136 (Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 or the EPIRA Law) to manage the orderly sale, disposition, and privatization of the assets of the National Power Corp. (NPC) over a 25-year period. In the discharge of its said duties, PSALM held a public bidding for the sale of AHEPP, a 246-MW hydroelectric power plant. After evaluating the submitted bids, PSALM awarded the sale to K-Water, a Korean company.

But even before K-Water was given the Notice of Award, IDEALS had been sending letters to PSALM to request for copies of documents pertaining to the sale. The first letter requested for copies of the Terms of Reference and proposed bids submitted by the bidders. There was no response because at the time no bids have been submitted yet. Besides, updates about the ongoing bidding were posted on the PSALM website anyway. The second letter requested for information regarding the winning bidder, such as company profile, contact person, office address, and Philippine registration. Despite press releases announcing K-Water as the winning bidder, PSALM failed to sufficiently provide the petitioners with the information they were asking for, almost as if PSALM officials were trying to hide something.

ISSUES:

1. Whether or not petitioners have locus standi to file this petition before the Court.

2. Whether or not PSALM violated the Constitution in withholding documents of public interest.

3. Whether or not a foreign company can own a hydroelectric power facility.

HELD:

1. Yes. As citizens and taxpayers, petitioners do have legal standing to file this petition before the Court.

2. Yes. In failing to provide the petitioners with the information they were asking for on their second letter, PSALM violated Section 7, Article III of the 1987 Constitution,which provides for the right of the people to information on matters of public concern. The Court ruled that people's right to information is intertwined wth the government's constitutional duty of full public disclosure of all transactions involving public interest, pursuant to Section 28, Art. II of the 1987 Constitution, which states a policy of full public disclosure. Both of these provisions are also essential to hold public officials accountable for their actions. An informed citizenry, said the Court, is essential to the existence and proper functioning of any democracy.

The Court made it clear that the public is entitled to information even on on-going negotiations before a final contract, subject to the following exceptions: privileged information, military and diplomatic secrets, and similar matters relating to national security and public order.

In addition, the Court highlighted the difference between duty to disclose information and duty to access information on matters of public concern. The duty to disclose information is mandatory under the Constitution, but it only covers transactions involving public interest. In the absence of an enabling law for Section 28, Art. II (e.g., Freedom of Information Act, which has been languishing in the congress for more than 20 years), postings in public bulletin boards and government websites will suffice.

The duty to access information, on the other hand, requires a demand or request for one to gain access to documents and paper of a particular agency. It has a broader scope of information, covering not only transactions of public interest, but also matters contained in official communications and public documents of any government agency.

Because of this ruling, PSALM was compelled by the Court to provide all the documents the petitioners were requesting for.

3. Yes, foreign ownership of a hydropower facility is not prohibited under existing laws. The construction, rehabilitation, and development of hydropower plants are among the infrastructure projects which even wholly-owned foreign corporations are allowed to undertake under RA 7718 or the Amended Build-Operate-Transfer Law.

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