Luna, Apayao is 2025 Freedom of Information National Awardee

ALABANG, Muntinlupa City — The Municipality of Luna, Apayao, under the administration of Mayor Januario S. Garde, was recently recognized as a 2025 Freedom of Information (FOI) National Awardee by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

The recognition was conferred on November 28, 2025, at The Bellevue, Alabang, and was received by Municipal Vice Mayor Zaira Erika L. Caluya and Secretary to the Sanggunian Erven P. Wanasen, who represented the Municipal Mayor and the officialdom of the municipality.

Among the 97 LGUs in the country with FOI compliance, the Municipality of Luna was one of the awardees in recognition of its commitment to transparency and good governance through the enactment of Municipal Ordinance No. 504, s. 2023, titled “Operationalizing Freedom of Information and Providing Mechanisms for the Disclosure of Public Records in the Municipality of Luna, Apayao, and Providing Penalties for Violation Thereof.”

On behalf of the municipality, Mayor Garde expressed gratitude to the PCO for honoring the town's commitment to promoting transparency, accountability, and good local governance.

“Maysa daytoy a Freedom of Information nga mangited ti mas nataltalged nga panangpataray ti gobyerno ta mabalin nga sukimaten ti umili ti trabaho dagiti opisyales da. For Luna, this is just one of the many things we are doing to show our people that they can trust us and that we are working to ensure that the change we promised will happen—and they will see it,” Garde said in an interview.

Luna is the de facto center of the province of Apayao, as it hosts the Provincial Capitol, line agencies, schools, the main campus of Apayao State College, and most business establishments.