After the Philippines’ top diplomat alleged that a passport printer stole people’s personal data from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), no less than the country’s top police officer said today that the case is a national security threat.
Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Oscar Albayalde said in Filipino and English during a press conference today, according to Rappler: “It can be [considered a national security threat]. That’s a lot of [information]. Not only the threat to national security but also the threat of our identities. There are so many Filipinos who are applying for passports. All the information is there.”
He also said that they are ready to work on the case but they’re still waiting for the DFA’s request.
Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesperson said today that the government is considering the issue a “grave and serious” matter.
As they should.
In a statement sent to the media, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo was quoted by The Philippine Daily Inquirer saying: “We are one with the Filipino people in their quest for truth and so we will not treat this issue lightly.”
Panelo also slammed DFA Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato’s instruction that some of those applying to get their passports renewed would need to submit their birth certificates because the department no longer has the physical copies.
Rappler quoted Panelo saying: “The ongoing practice is not only cumbersome to everyone affected but is a form of red tape which this administration frowns upon and will not tolerate.”
The submission of the old passport should be enough documentation for renewal according to Panelo, the Philippine Star reported.
The Republic Act 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 aims to protect citizens’ personal information that are held by the government and private companies.
Section 14 states that parties who have a person’s personal information can subcontract its processing but it should ensure that safeguards are in place to protect that information and prevent its unauthorized use.
The whole controversy started when DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. tweeted on Saturday that a passport production contractor whose services were terminated “made off with [the] data.”
Following a massive backlash, Locsin claimed that the issue started during the term of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and became worse during former president Benigno Aquino III’s administration.
He also alleged that members of the opposition Liberal Party nicknamed the “Yellows,” were behind the theft which he said occurred because the DFA was going to investigate their “crooked deal.”
Locsin. I will autopsy the yellows who did the passport deal alive. This is called evisceration. https://t.co/A0662NeRFT
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) January 12, 2019
In an effort to shield his boss President Rodrigo Duterte from the controversy, Locsin tweeted today that the former has nothing to do with the theft and insisted that it only involves former DFA and Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) staff who served under Arroyo and Aquino.
The president has nothing to do with this. This has to do only with former officials of the DFA and PCOO in the GMA and PNoy administrations. https://t.co/7JKJ4yZGwP
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) January 14, 2019
Meanwhile, in a Facebook post that appeared on Saturday, former DFA Secretary Perfecto Yasay said that on Oct. 5, 2015, the DFA awarded to APO Production Unit Inc., (APUI) the right to produce passports under the condition that it would not be subcontracted to another printer.
Yasay alleged that APUI violated the agreement and subcontracted the project to United Graphic Expression Corporation (UGEC).
On February 10, 2017, Yasay said Panelo, who is also the government’s Chief Legal Counsel, declared that UGEC’s production of passports was illegal and that all data used in the creation of passports “be reconveyed to the DFA or be acknowledged to be exclusively owned and controlled by the DFA.”
Yasay said he believed that UGEC still has not complied with the government’s order.
While Locsin is busy pointing fingers at his predecessors, the DFA has to deal with an upcoming investigation by the National Privacy Commission (NPC), a government body required to implement the Data Privacy Act of 2012.
According to GMA News, NPC Commissioner Raymund Liboro issued a statement on Saturday that they will summon the contractor, DFA officials, and other concerned agencies to explain the alleged theft.
He said: “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.”
