Wazzup Pilipinas!
About a year after the Comeleak data breach, which exposed the personal data of over 55 million Filipino voters, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) is rallying Data Protection Officers (DPOs) from government agencies to adopt a proactive approach in the fight for data protection of citizens in a series of conferences, which invoke the famous 70’s slogan “Kung ‘di tayo kikilos, sino ang kikilos? Kung hindi ngayon, kailan pa?”
Privacy Commissioner and Chairman Raymund Enriquez Liboro said the slogan is very appropriate as a DPO battle cry, which is attributed to student journalist Abraham “Ditto” Sarmiento Jr.
“The biggest lesson we have learned from the Comeleak breach is that, at the end of the day, we have no better recourse really than prevention and vigilance, which are essentially roles of DPOs. They are the people’s first line of defense against privacy violations inside an organization, and the NPC is here to help them help their organizations in fully complying with the Data Privacy Act of 2012 to reduce the likelihood of breach incidents like the Comeleak from happening,” Liboro said.
Dubbed as “DPO1: The 1st Data Protection Officers’ Assembly,” the first conference in the series focuses on government DPOs. It is a half-day event set on April 05, 2017, 8:00 AM, at the Diosdado Macapagal Hall, 10th Floor, Land Bank Plaza, 1598 M.H. Del Pilar, corner Dr. J. Quintos St., Malate, Manila.
In a meeting with palace reporters last week, Commissioner Liboro said the DPO1 is meant to enable government DPOs to quickly master their new responsibilities and assert their crucial role within their respective organizations.
“The DPO functions as an advocate and watchdog for data privacy inside an organization. Although the DPO works as an employee of the organization, it is his or her job to champion the privacy rights of individuals, and advocate for it above the immediate business interests of his employer,” Liboro said.