SC chief to discuss writ of habeas data

Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno will speak on the writ of habeas data during the “Right to Information” Policy Forum and Organizational Meeting of the UNESCO Information for All Programme (IFAP) Philippines National Committee on Nov. 19 at the Linden Suites, Pasig City.

Explaining the writ earlier this year in a speech at Silliman University, Chief Justice Puno said it is “a remedy to protect the image, privacy, and honor of an individual and to enforce the freedom of information of a person.”

Countries now implementing the writ are in Latin America, including Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Argentina and Ecuador.

The policy forum will bring together policy and opinion makers from government, business and industry, civil society and academe to discuss national information policies and related issues such as accessibility to information in the public domain and capability-building for the information age.

According to Dr. Florangel Rosario-Braid, communication committee chair of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (UNACOM), IFAP is an intergovernmental program created by UNESCO in 2000 that seeks to harness the new opportunities of the information age to create equitable societies through better access to information. Specific priority areas of the program are information literacy; ethical, legal and societal implications of ICTs; and preservation of information.

During the forum, the right to information will be discussed by a panel composed of Vincent Lazatin, executive director, Transparency and Accountability Network; Secretary Ricardo Saludo, Office of the President; Dr. William Torres, president, Mosaic Communications Inc.; Vergel Santos, chair, editorial board, BusinessWorld; and Prudenciana Cruz, director, National Library.