THE regional office of the Deparrment of Social Welfare and Development in Davao Region (DSWD-11) said Wednesday that the provision of the Data Privacy Act (DPA) in sharing their Listahanan data during a forum at Metropolis Suites along Cabaguio Avenue, Davao City.
DSWD 11 assistant regional director for Operations Rebecca Santamaria said during a stakeholder's forum on the National Housing Targeting System for Poverty Reduction or Listahanan that before they could share their data to other agencies, they must comply first with the necessary requirement in adherence to the provisions of RA 10173 or DPA.
She cited that the personal information includes age, gender, civil status, ethnic organization, health, education, sex life and offenses, among others, that are considered confidential.
Those who will be proven breaching the contract will have an accountability for transfer of personal information like a sentence of six months to seven years in prison and fined an amount ranging from P500,000 to P8 million, depending on the gravity and frequency of the crime committed.
She added that if the offender is a public official, officer or employee, he or she will suffer perpetual or temporary disqualification from office in addition to the penalties.
Before they could acquire the data, they have to appoint a data protection officer who will ensure their compliance with data privacy and security rules and regulation.
They must also conduct a privacy impact assessment, create privacy manual, implement privacy and data protection measure and exercise breach reporting procedures.
Prior to the acquisition, they have to sign a Memorandum of Agreement first and comply all these. The DSWD will also conduct inspection if they implement privacy and data protection measures.
The data they requested must also be only intended for social protection programs and services.
DSWD 11 regional field coordinator Mae Valentin said in a separate interview that around 40 participants coming from different provinces and government agencies in the region participated in the discussion.
She said that DPA was passed in 2012, however, the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) was only implemented this year, thus, they only conducted the activity on Wednesday.
To date, she said that only Philippine Health Insurance Corporation has completed the requirements which they used as basis for their beneficiaries while other agencies like the Department of Labor and Employment and Department of Finance are processing the requirements to obtain the data from their office.
The national government agency has to use the Listahanan to avoid politicking and to ensure that those who will benefit government services are considered poor.