Truth Telling and other Perils in “Democratic” Philippines 221 Information and For Other Purposes,” was submitted to the House of Representatives for discussion. But the draft, despite hopes that it would be approved after years of seeing it through Congress, was killed in the last day of the 14th Congress. The draft Act would require every government agency to keep and maintain records which the public can access, specifying that certain records may not be destroyed, specically those pertaining to government loans and guarantees; government contracts exceeding P10 million; the declaration of assets, liabilities and net worth required of government ofcials and employees; investigations of graft and corrupt practices by public ofcers; and any others where signicant public interest is involved, or may be involved. The proposed Act also requires every government body to provide the public with information about its operations, its powers and functions, the services it delivers, its programmes, projects and performance targets and accomplishments, the means through which the public can participate in policy formulation, its record-keeping system, and details of the contracts into which it enters. Under the draft Act, government agencies are mandated to make available to the public information on almost every aspect of their operations, policies, structure and transactions, on the records in their custody or under their control. Government bodies are also required to disclose to the public information not explicitly exempted by the draft Act and which poses possible harm to the public's health, the environment, or any other matter that affects the public interest. The draft Act also species the conditions in which a government agency can deny access, among them the President's declaration through an executive order that disclosure may damage national security. This may, however, be challenged before the Supreme Court. Neither can records regarding ongoing investigations be released when disclosure would interfere with the proceedings, deprive a person of a fair trial, disclose the identity of a condential source, or endanger the life and safety of law enforcement personnel. The draft Act also claries the scope of the constitutional guarantee of access to information and imposes nes and prison terms for its violation. In the aftermath of the draft law's non-approval on June 4, 2015, some congressmen were reported to be readying amendments that would include a clause that would make the Act once approved non-retroactive, meaning government information prior to the Act's approval would not be covered, as well as making its approval conditional to the passage of a Right of Reply Act, the introduction of which much of the Philippine media opposed in 2009. President Rodrigo Duterte has issued an Executive Order mandating access to information held by agencies under the executive department. But because of the number of exceptions to information that may be accessed (166), such