BOAC- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) MIMAROPA held series of orientation on Data Privacy Act (DPA) as part of the mandatory Listahanan data sharing agreements to local government units (LGUs) in Marinduque.

Listahanan is a government mechanism that identifies who and where the poor are nationwide, where the result of the 2015 nationwide household assessment is available and accessible to social protection stakeholders.

“With the passage of the data privacy act, DSWD established a systematic way of sharing data to safeguard personal and sensitive personal information of households in the Listahanan list,” said Regional Coordinator Ernie H. Jarabejo.

RA 10173 or Data Privacy Act of 2012 protects individual personal information stored in the information and communications systems of government and private sectors. It aims to protect the fundamental human right to privacy while ensuring a free flow of information to promote innovation and growth.

For requests covering personal information e.g. list of names and addresses of Listahanan identified poor, the Memorandum of Agreement between the stakeholder and the DSWD is required, added Jarabejo.

However, for the statistical data request, a Letter to the DSWD enumerating the data needed and its purpose is required.

Also in this act, stakeholders requesting access to the list of poor are required to designate Data Protection Officer who shall plan, implement, and evaluate policies for data privacy and security, Jarabejo concluded.

The DPA orientations were attended by office heads of the Marinduque Provincial Government and Municipal Government of Buenavista.

To date, the local government of Boac has successfully complied with all requirements in the Listahanan data sharing among the six municipalities in Marinduque.