DILIMAN, Quezon City—To further strengthen the Institute’s commitment to the implementation of the Republic Act 10173, also known as the Data Privacy Act (DPA) of 2012, the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) held a seminar in partnership with the National Privacy Commission (NPC).

The seminar aims to aid the Institute’s compliance officers for privacy (COPs) to enhance the handling and security of data from clients and stakeholders. A total of 16 personnel designated as COPs in different ATI regional training centers attended the virtual activity where they reviewed the provisions and principles of the DPA.

Cleo Martinez, Information Technology Officer of the NPC’s Compliance and Monitoring Division, presented the overview of the DPA including its structure, importance, breaches, and processes. 

“The data subject must be aware of the nature, purpose, and extent of processing their personal information,” he said as he highlighted the importance of transparency in data handling.

He added that any information and communication related to the processing of personal data should be easy to access and uses clear and plain language for easy understanding. At the end of his talk, he reminded everyone to always remember the DPA’s golden rule: “If you can’t keep it, don’t collect it.”

Meanwhile, Atty. Vida Zora Bocar, chief of the NPC-Policy Review Division, briefed and led the participants in the formulation of the privacy impact assessment to evaluate and manage the impact of the agency’s program, process, system, and measures on data privacy. Dianne Lane Lopez and Ijy James Lomibao from the Senior Office of the Privacy Commissioner also discussed the data privacy management program and manual. 

“We are not the owner of the personal information given to us, we are just the processor, so we should make it clear to our data subjects how their information will be used,” Lomibao stressed.

The participants of the seminar shared how the activity will help them in enhancing the data privacy measures of the Institute. Bong-Bong Buli-e, a media production specialist from the ATI Cordillera Administrative Region said that, with the clear discussion about the concepts of the DPA , they are now “fully informed of our role as COPs.”

The activity also served as an avenue to re-evaluate the Institute’s compliance with the DPA and further improve its privacy management program to protect its clients and stakeholders. The seminar was spearheaded by the ATI’s Information Services Division on April 15-16, 2021 via Google Meet.