Gov’t asked to suspend privacy law enforcement for better COVID-19 contact tracing

MANILA, Philippines—Some local business groups have asked the government to suspend the enforcement of the data privacy law so others could know who exactly got infected with coronavirus, a move which the privacy watchdog said would only shame people who needed help instead.

Four business groups signed a letter, dated Sept. 21, seeking suspension of implementation of the privacy law and addressed to the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF). A copy of the letter was shared to reporters on Thursday (Sept. 24).

The letter was sent after the IATF opened its doors to the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), letting its officials serve as resource speakers, following PCCI complaints that some of the IATF’s health protocols were impractical in the workplace.

Interestingly, PCCI president Benedicto Yujuico did not sign the letter, but some top PCCI officials did.

The signatories included George Barcelon, which the letter described as as PCCI president emeritus and member of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac), a body that recommends measures on the economy and other matters to the President.

PCCI, considered as the largest in the country, did not respond to Inquirer’s request for clarification on why Yujuico didn’t sign the letter but other chamber officials did.

In the letter, the businessmen said they have been receiving suggestions on how to facilitate contract tracing. One way of doing so, they said, is to reverse the process.

Instead of looking for people who might be infected, the government should encourage them to “come out in the open” by building “decent and comfortable quarantine facilities.”

“Supplementing this call for voluntary disclosure is the temporary suspension of the Data Privacy Act, including the patient confidentiality clauses, as part of government prerogatives in this crisis,” the letter said. “After all, in the interest of saving lives, the government has already taken away many constitutional rights to implement the strict quarantine,” it said.

Other PCCI officials signed the letter as representatives of three other business chambers, which they also headed. The letter listed recommendations, which the business leaders said they came up with after participating in the IATF meeting last Sept. 14.

The other signatories are:

• Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr., PCCI treasurer and also president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc.
• Edgardo G. Lacson, PCCI auditor and chair of Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines
• Francis C. Chua, PCCI director for international trade affairs and chair of Philippine Silkroad International Chamber of Commerce

“If we can suspend the DPA in the context of this emergency, we may not have to use the full P5 billion budget allocated for contact tracers,” the letter said. “Instead, we can start with even P1 billion to build or repurpose existing schools or other buildings in strategic barangays in the NCR [National Capital Region],” it said.

When asked for comment, the National Privacy Commission said the request was “anti-poor, bereft of science and ethics.”

“There’s no scientific proof that publicly naming Covid infected individuals has public health benefits in a pandemic response,” said NPC Commissioner and Chair Raymund Liboro. “What has been proven is that this disease causes discrimination, shaming and has led to social vigilantism,” he said.

“It will prevent Covid positive individuals and their close contacts from coming out to seek testing and treatment. [This will just be] making it more difficult for authorities to control this pandemic,” he added.

This was just one of four suggestions listed in the letter.

It also asked the IATF to bring back all public utility vehicles that operated before the pandemic, to exempt workers (except those on the frontlines) from having to wear face shields inside offices and factories and to further ease restrictions on nonessential sectors, including non-contact sports activities.

“One good example of these are golf clubs which are very, very low risk,” the businessmen said.

TSB