MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights reiterated the right to privacy under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the Department of Foreign Affairs faces a data breach.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. earlier claimed that a contractor "ran away" with personal details of passport holders.
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"CHR reiterates the importance of the right to privacy in preserving human dignity as stated in various human rights documents, including the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Data Privacy Act of 2012," CHR spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia said in a statement.
The commission called on the Philippine government to identify accountabilities and determine all penalties under the law to preserve the rights of those who were affected by the incident.
The CHR also commended the National Privacy Commission for initiating an investigation into the passport data mess.
"The incident poses grave national security issues, especially since the said data contain sensitive, personal information of Filipino passport holders," De Guia said.
Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr., meanwhile, believes that Locsin may have been misinformed on his declaration that there was a data breach in the DFA.
In a television interview, Yasay said he does not think the contractor would have stolen the data from the government.
"The only reason, compelling reason I can see is because they wanted to deflect the real issue of the passport mess, which is awarding, the production of the passport from an end-to-end basis," Yasay told ANC's "Headstart".
Locsin, on the other hand, insisted that he was not misinformed but admitted that he may lack information on the contracts between the DFA and its contractors.
"My predecessors seem to be panicking. I don't know why," Locsin said on Twitter. — Patricia Lourdes Viray