NPC to probe passport data loss caused by DFA contractor

NPC Commissioner Raymund Liboro (Photo from the Facebook account of the National Privacy Commission)

MANILA, Philippines — The National Privacy Commission (NPC) will investigate the passport data loss caused by a previous contractor as earlier revealed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.

“The National Privacy Commission shall conduct its own investigation on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) assertion that a private contractor has caused the non-availability of Filipino passport data and other documents entrusted to it for processing,” NPC Commissioner Raymund Liboro said in a statement issued on Saturday.

Liboro further said that the NPC would summon the DFA and concerned agencies, including the alleged contractor, 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,” he added.

In his personal Twitter accoutn, Locsin disclosed on Jan 9. that a former outsourced passport maker “took all” the data after its contract was terminated.

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“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,” Locsin said in his tweet.

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. https://t.co/8vsN96jqij

— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) January 8, 2019

“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. /atm