National Privacy Commission to probe passport data loss

The National Privacy Commission (NPC) will be conducting an investigation into an incident involving a passport maker previously tapped by the Department of Foreign Affairs' (DFA) running off with passport data and other documents entrusted to it for processing.

Privacy Commissioner Raymund Liboro issued the statement on Saturday after Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. revealed  that the outsourced firm "took all the data when contract (was) terminated."

Liboro said the NPC will summon the alleged contractor, along with the the DFA, and other concerned agencies to  determine the facts surrounding the case.

"Any form of non-availability of personal data, infringement of the rights of data subjects, and harms from processing that include inconveniencing the public, must be adequately explained to the satisfaction of the law," the commissioner said.

Liboro also gave his assurance that the "the NPC will continue to champion the rights of Filipino data subjects."

Birth certificates

The DFA cited the supposed data loss as they required those renewing their passports to bring their birth certificates.

In a tweet, DFA Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato also said "applicants renewing brown or green passports or maroon machine-readable passports are required to submit birth certificates."

He said this will allow the DFA to "capture and store the document in our database as we no longer have the physical copy of the document submitted when they first applied."

Locsin said the incident happened "because previous contractor got pissed when terminated it made off with data. We did nothing about it or couldn't because we were in the wrong."

"It won't happen again. Passports pose national security issues and cannot be kept back by private entities. Data belongs to the state," he added.

PNP-Anti-Cybercrime Group

Chief Superintendent Marni Marcos Jr., Philippine National Police-Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) director, said the matter has yet to be brought up with the PNP's cyber crime division but they would "act on it" if it falls under their jurisdiction.

"If they will report it to us, we will act on it. If the crime committed was with the use of ICT (information communication technology), it will fall under our jurisdiction," he told GMA News Online.

Marcos stressed that the importance of protecting one's personal information.

"It is a must for all government agencies to protect their data. The same goes for all government employees handling that data," the chief said.

"As a law enforcer on cyber crimes, it is not only for government agencies but also, lalo na ngayon sa era na'to, millenneals. Almost everyone is using ICT like cellphones and social media," he added. — MDM, GMA News