MalacaƱang on Monday described as ācumbersomeā the move of the Department of Foreign Affairs to require applicants renewing their passports to bring their original birth certificates following the agencyās declaration it lost passportĀ data to its old contractor.
Presidential spokesperson SalvadorĀ Panelo made the remark as the DFA vowed to address its passport data loss after a previouslyĀ outsourced printer allegedly took off with passport holders’ documents when its contract was terminated.
āApplicants should not be burdenedĀ by submitting original copies of their certificates of live birth, obtaining which requires another application process beforeĀ the Philippine Statistics Authority,Ā to renew their passports just because the producer lost their relevant data,ā Panelo said.
Panelo said that the submissionĀ of the old or current passport, which the applicant seeks to renew, āshould suffice for the purpose.ā
āThe ongoing practice is not only cumbersome to everyone affectedĀ but is a form of red tape which this administration frowns upon and will not tolerate,ā he added.
Panelo described the passport data breach as a āserious and grave matterā and assured that the National Privacy Commission is determining if there were any violations of the Data Privacy Act 2012 or Republic Act 10173.
āThe National Privacy CommissionĀ has been directed to investigateĀ the incident in the Department
of Foreign Affairs and ascertain whether certain provisionsĀ of Republic Act No. 10173, otherwise known as the Data Privacy Act of 2012, have been violated, particularly with respect to the personal information of the data subjects,ā Panelo said.
Panelo, however, emphasized that the current arrangement for the printing of passports should also be examined to determine if there are violations of pertinent laws, which may be detrimental to the public.
He also assured that the Palace would not treat the issue lightly.
Defense Secretary Delfin LorenzanaĀ said the passport data breach is a national security concern.
“It is a security concern. I believeĀ this happened several years ago. The Department of Foreign Affairs is looking into it and I am sure they will come up with an appropriate solution so that nothingĀ of this sort happens again,” Lorenzana said.
“It is a very grave security concern and quiet alarming.Ā These are personal informationĀ such as full name, date and place of birth and other informationĀ that could be used illegally,” he added
Lorenzana said that the DepartmentĀ of National Defense is ready to assist the DFA should they need their help to retrieve the personal information if they are still retrievable.Ā “We will get in touch with the DFA to find out the details of this issue and how to mitigate its ill effect,” Lorenzana said. (PNA, Argyll Geducos, and Francis Wakefield)