Pursuant to Sec. 102 of R.A. No. 11639 (General Appropriations Act FY 2022)

To enhance transparency and enforce accountability, all agencies of the government shall maintain a Transparency Seal to be posted on their websites. The Transparency Seal shall contain the following: (i) the agency's mandates and functions, names of its officials with their position and designation, and contact information; (ii) approved budgets and corresponding targets, immediately upon approval of this Act; (iii) modifications made pursuant to the general and special provisions in this Act; (iv) annual procurement plan/s and contracts awarded with the winning supplier, contractor or consultant; (v) major activities or projects categorized in accordance with the 0+10 point socioeconomic agenda and their target beneficiaries; (vi) status of implementation, evaluation or assessment reports of said programs or projects; (vii) Budget and Financial Accountability Reports; (viii) People's Freedom to Information (FOI) Manual signed by head of agency, Agency Information Inventory, 2020 and 2021 FOI Summary Report, and 2020 and 2021 FOI Registry; and (ix) annual reports on the status of income authorized by law to be retained or used and be deposited outside of the National Treasury, which shall include the legal basis for its retention or use, the beginning balance, income collected and its sources, expenditures, and ending balance for the preceding fiscal year.

A pearl burried inside a tightly-shut shell is practically worthless. Government information is a pearl, meant to be shared with the public in order to maximize its inherent value.

The Transparency Seal, depicted by a pearl shining out of an open shell, is a symbol of a policy shift towards openness in access to government information. On the one hand, it hopes to inspire Filipinos in the civil services to be more open to citizen engagement, on the other hand, to invite the Filipino citizenry to exercise their right to participate in governance.

This initiative is envisioned as a step in the right direction towards solidifying the position of the Philippine as the Pearl of the Orient - a shining example for demographic virtue in the region.