Republic Act 9470 or the National Archives of the Philippines Act provided the legal framework to which records management in government agencies are regulated. The law specifically requires all government agencies including State Universities like the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman to establish a records management program, conduct of inventory of public records, and establishment of records disposition schedules, among others. Even though attempts have been made to standardize and formalize the records management program for UP Diliman, the University still doesn't have a records management program for all offices of the University.

This study sought to define and assess the current records management practices of offices in UP Diliman. The assessment highlights that UP Diliman offices, even having no standard policy, have similarities in process and procedures in its records keeping practices. Records in UP Diliman can also be divided into thirteen major records series that documents all functions of the University.

The findings of the preliminary investigation, analysis of business transactions of UP Diliman and assessment and identification of existing system and requirements for records, together with the guidance of RA 9470, ISO 15489 and other relevant laws and legislations regarding records management serve as bases for the development of a draft UP Diliman records management policy framework. A policy review was then conducted to the draft policy framework to ensure that the policy statements are clear, concise and understandable by the staff of the university and determine the adaptability of the records management policy statements to the UP Diliman. Its results then serve as materials for the proposal and development of a comprehensive records management program with key components such as 1.) File Classification Plan; 2.) Records Retention and Disposition Schedule; 3.) Vital Records Program and 4.) Disaster Prevention and Recovery Plan. The comprehensive records management program may be adopted by UP Diliman as a formal framework for an efficient records management system for the University.

This study is a result of an in-depth analysis of the various bases (e.g., statutory requirements, standards, among others) and practices on records appraisal and disposition of the records officers in the select National Government Agencies in Quezon City. Through qualitative interviews, the study revealed that the National Archives of the Philippines Act of 2007, Memorandum Circular No. 78, s. 1964, ISO standards, and internal policies are the major bases of the select agencies on records appraisal and disposition. However, it also discovered that these bases, particularly the laws and standards, have some conflicting provisions. Among these conflicting provisions concern on matters relating to the following: 1. Definition of documents and records; 2. Approval/ Authorization on records disposal; 3. Witnesses and representatives during the records disposal; 4. Documentation/ Certification on records disposal; 5. Transfer of responsibility on public records; 6. Retention periods and disposal provisions of public records; and 7. Proceeds of sales of disposed of records.

As for the practices, this study showed that government agencies can go as far as having a comprehensive procedure to having a modest one when it comes to their records appraisal and disposition. In deciding whether to retain or dispose of a record, administrative and legal values are mostly being given importance, though, fiscal, and historical values are also being considered. Further, a detailed procedure and process flow on records appraisal and disposition for government agencies were proposed. In the end, the following major recommendations of the researcher are presented in this paper:

1. Government agencies shall abide with existing laws and consider standards when making decisions on records appraisal and disposition;
2. Government agencies shall have a clearly written internal policies and guidelines that do not conflict with existing laws;
3. When crafting policies, government agencies shall coordinate with other concerned agencies to ensure that practices and processes are aligned with legally acceptable systems and procedures;
4. Conduct a democratic approach in decision-making on records appraisal and disposition by consulting stakeholders;
5. Concerned government employees shall attend to seminars and training courses conducted by credible organizations;
6. Credible organizations and other stakeholders may team up to come up with code of ethics for government records officers and archivists;
7. Overlapping and conflicting laws and statutory requirements shall be reviewed and amended, as necessary; and,
8. Start appreciating that records management is an important aspect of good governance and public administration

With the emergence of a global pandemic, this study aimed to find out how patients made sense of their situation upon finding out that they were positive for Covid-19. This study is heavily influenced by the sense-making model of Brenda Dervin, which divides the sense-making process of an individual into three main components: the Situation, Gap, and Use. Through these three parts, the study was able to find out the information needs and seeking strategies of Covid-19 patients.

This study made use of descriptive qualitative research design and collected data from respondents through semi-structured, open-ended, and in-depth interviews. The respondents of the study were previous Covid-19 patients who were of legal age and have since recovered from the disease. To analyze their data, the study made use of a thematic analysis, which highlighted the main concepts that were collected from the interviews.

The results of the study show that the individual situations of the respondents play a key role in their information needs, and thus their way of seeking information. Respondents have varied concerns, questions, or gaps, depending on the situation that they were facing. Covid-19 patients are finally able to make sense of their experience once they have find useful information that has helped them in answering the concerns and questions that they initially had in mind.

This study sought to a) characterize the information practices and processes of COVID-19 vaccination implementers and receivers in a Philippine Local Government Unit (LGU), b) determine the perceptions and experiences of COVID-19 vaccination implementers and receivers, and c) identify the barriers faced by COVID-19 vaccination implementers and receivers. This study focuses on the grassroots execution of the COVID-19 vaccination in Las Piñas City, an LGU in the National Capital Region (NCR). This is a descriptive research with data gathered using a semi-structured interview for vaccine implementers and a survey for vaccine receivers,

Findings indicate that COVID-19 vaccination implementers have various practices and processes in handling information before, during, and after vaccination. The implementers do the following to increase vaccination: conduct public health education and promotion mainly through social media, form partnerships with public and private organizations through advocacy meetings, open hotline and different information channels, and use hybrid strategies. They administer the vaccine in six (6) steps using the DOH forms and guidelines, with the aid of third-party party information system. In the post-vaccination phase, they generate and send daily reports to the national database for accomplishment. Despite the negative feedback on social media the vaccine implementers maintain a tolerable attitude and adjust to people's level of understanding especially toward aggressive and demanding ones. The barriers to the implementation include: a) pandemic, people, and poverty, b) hardware, software, and connection issues, c) limited budget, and d) proliferation of disinformation. Survey results from the vaccine receivers reveal their information sources, information evaluation, ways to increase information awareness, personal experiences, challenges in information access, beliefs, and reasons. Receivers perceive health professionals as a highly reliable, very useful, and frequently used source of vaccination information, while Twitter is the least reliable, least useful, and rarely used. Meanwhile, receivers exhibit positive information literacy, have had pleasant experiences, and suggest more visibility in social media to increase vaccination awareness. Their main challenge in information access is inadequacy and unavailability of information on websites and social media. Lastly, they have a favorable outlook towards vaccination. It can be said that online exchange of information and digitalization of processes are one of the key aspects of COVID-19 vaccination information dissemination and access.

The contamination brought by COVID-19 also spread in the information sphere through the infodemic brought by the spikes of information disorders during the pandemic, such as conspiracy theories proclaiming that COVID is fake; it is all planned, a plandemic. Due to an encounter with a COVID-19 denier, the researcher was inspired to explore the factors motivating the information-seeking behavior of Filipino COVID-19 deniers.

The literature says education or literacy defines information disorder vulnerability or conspiracy belief. However, recent studies show that this instance does not seem exclusively a consequence of education. This study used the Modified Comprehensive Model of Online Health Information Seeking to accommodate social media use and exposure to information disorders, truthiness, and distrust in authorities or credible media as factors motivating conspiracy belief.

This case study interviewed five (5) followers of Gising Maharlika TV, an independent media alternative propagating COVID denier perspectives. Their beliefs echo the popular COVID conspiracies mentioning Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and 5G. The results also show that the participants prefer sources with truthiness attributes and platforms “free from censorship.” They actively seek information in these spaces and are quick to avoid mainstream and credible sources. The study identified religiosity or spirituality and the Philippine government’s administration of the COVID-response as specific factors motivating vaccine disapproval and distrust in scientific and authoritative sources. This study concluded by pointing out the opportunity to establish discourse with the disinformed in understanding the mechanics of information disorders and formulating strategies for communicating scientific and reliable information effectively.