A Glance on the Data Privacy Act of 2011 By its very title it can be seen as a grant of statury right to privacy as mentioned under the Philippine Constitution of 1987. “Section 3 The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable except upon lawful order of the court, or when public safety or order requires otherwise, as prescribed by law.” Though it seems promising on the privacy part when the ACT states that “SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy.- It is the policy of the State to protect the fundamental human right of privacy of communication. The State recognizes the vital role of information and communications technology in nation building and its inherent obligation to ensure that personal information ininformation and communications systems in the GOVERNMENT and in the private sector are secured and protected.” Indeed an executory implementation, however it recognizes as well the information and communications in the government. Why o why? Haven't we experienced enough circumvention under statutory law on “Anti-Wire Tapping Act (Republic Act No. 4200)” which I am totally against as well. Hello! Garci! What if this act is passed? Dearest! Garci! Even if the ACT discloses exceptions under Section 4. Scope which states among others that “This Act does not apply to the following: (a) Information about all individual who is or was an officer or employee of a government institution that relates to the position or functions of the individual,”. It just gives more ideas on how to cloak the data by making the document personal as to its source when under the definition of Personal information found in Section 3 when it states that ”xxxfrom which the identity of an individual is apparent or can be reasonably and ascertained by the entity holding the information, or when put together with other information would identify an individual.xxx” The creator may make an information or communication by simply including an identification thus become personal. The scenario does not forsee that the Public offecer can attach anything on the document and poof! Public document becomes personal informationor communication. The individual can even make encrypted content to make it look geometric by using mathematical expressions to appear coded simply as addition and subtraction when in fact it contains detailed message of those exluded by the ACT. A clear example. What if the information contains a bar graph or a pie graph. For anyone's sake, that could have been a computation of profits in a election scam which this country has been trying to supress and still trying. Another point is under “Section 5. Extraterritorial Application. - This Act applies to an act done or practice engaged in and outside of the Philippines by an entity if: (a) The act, practice or processing relates to personal information about a Philippine citizen or a resident;” It may be deduced that foreign relations within the Philippines would be excluded in the protection which for instance could simply identify the information or communication to pertain to foreigners with actually contents referring to a citizen of the Philippines or a resident. The ACT even says that “The personal information was collected or held by an entity in the Philippines. ” What if merely sent from overseas, who is to say that such information or communication is as such when the processing would be limited and responsibility would be held by the maker under trust of the contents made. How can this be ascertained when the ACT under “Section. 9. General Data Privacy Principles. -The processing of personal information shall be allowed, subject to compliance with the requirements ofthis Act and other laws allowing disclosure of information to the public and adherence to the principles of transparency, legitimate purpose and proportionality.” ? The title of the ACT says privacy but under processing the same must be disclosed. How can anything be private when it shall undergo processing or as defined in the ACT “Processing refers to any operation or any set of operations performed upon personal information including, but not limited to, the collection, recording, organization, storage, updating or modification, retrieval, consultation, use, consolidation, blocking, erasure or destruction of data.” If under operation, what data can be actually protected when under current events that POSTAL offices cannot even protect the mail of the citizens from being stolen. What more in cases where the information or communication is processed before being kept and protected which this ACT aims to do including Information or communication of Government Relations. In fact the ACT even includes “Sensitive personal information refers to personal information: (among other things About an individual's health, genetic or sexual life of a person, or to any judicial proceeding for any offense committed or alleged to have been committed by such person, the disposal of such proceedings, or the sentence of any court in such proceedings;)” How in the case of a delinquent who commits a heinous act then becomes old but runs for election, let's say the Presidency for example and thereafter wins. BOOM! Dearest! Garci! Or under the Anti-Wire Tapping ACT! Hello! Garci! Under “Section 11 Sensitive Personal Information and Privileged Information. prohibited, except in the following cases: ( a) The data subject has given his or her express consent, specific to the purpose prior to the processing; ” So what if it gives his consent? the information still gets processed and thereafter data is protected. Final note, the information or communication which deserves protection is that of private in nature only by constitutional expression “Privacy of Communication under the fundamental law of the State as a limitation on the Government for the protection of Sovereignty which resides in the PEOPLE and all government authority emenates from THEM as against Public office is a Public trust. Public officers and employees must at ALL TIMES be ACCOUNTABLE to the PEOPLE, SERVE THEM with utmust responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, lead modest lives. ” as mentioned in ARTICLE XI, SECTION 1 and ARTICLE II SECTION 1 of the 1987 Constitution.