The Salvadoran President has approved and ordered the publishing of the regulations of the Law on Access to Public Information, which will come into force on 10 September.
A statement by the President of El Salvador reads:
The President, Mauricio Funes, has approved and ordered the publishing of the regulations of the Law on Access to Public Information, which will appear in the Official Gazette on September 2 and will become effective on the 10th of this month.
About 8 Thousand NGOs that manage state funds must provide data on their financial statements.
Next Tuesday, the Law on Free Access to Public Information will come into force and it will force these non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to give information to the citizenry if it is requested.
According to what prensalibre.com published, among these NGOs are "committees, foundations, associations, companies and organizations that manage funds outside the state."
Following the adoption in Guatemala of the Law on Public Information Access, El Salvador and Costa Rica are the only ones in the isthmus that lack a similar law.
The Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES) presented yesterday its draft law on transparency and access to public information.
The proposal includes 113 articles that seek to force all state institutions to deliver public information to all citizens.
The law, which regulates access to information publicly administered information, will come into effect 180 days after it is published.
The regulations guarantee the people the right to request and access government information.
Public information is defined to include: budget reports, deposit of public funds, usufruct concessions and list of works in progress, etc.
Las week the session of Congress introduced a bill called the Access to Public Information Law.
In the midst of the turbulance caused by the transparency scandals in the Legislature, the law could not have arrived at a better time. Now that the deputies are "washing their faces" before the citizens they are starting to approve this initiative.
The Constitution contemplates free access to public information but, typical of public officials, they did not pay attention to citizen requirements, especially those of the national press.