Philippines earns voting seat on international privacy body

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ National Privacy Commission (NPC) announced Thursday, October 25, that it earned a voting seat on the 5-member executive committee of the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners (ICDPPC). 

The ICDPPC – the premier world body regarding data protection and privacy – is a worldwide conference of 119 independent data privacy and protection regulators from around the world. 

The voting was held Tuesday, October 23, in Brussels, Belgium.

NPC Commissioner Raymund Liboro said it was “an honor for the NPC to represent the country at the ICDPPC, especially in a leadership capacity.”

“This is an acknowledgement of the hard work we expend, as well as the country’s commitment to data protection,” Liboro added.

The  Executive Committee of the ICDPPC is made up of 5 elected members with a two-year term. Current members include the privacy authorities of Australia, Canada, Burkina Faso, and the United Kingdom, which holds the chairmanship.

The conference has two additional members, made up of the next hosting authorities – Albania and Mexico. The 2018 Conference has attracted more than 1,200 delegates from around the world.

‘A lot to contribute’

“Having a seat at the committee’s table to take part in addressing challenges that privacy regulators face is definitely a privilege for the NPC. It’s an opportunity for learning from each other’s experience. Definitely, the Philippines, although young, has a lot to contribute too especially in assisting new members,” Liboro said.

French Privacy Commissioner and outgoing ICDPPC chair Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin welcomed the Philippines as a new member of the committee.

“I’m very happy that the Philippines is becoming a new member of the Executive Committee. I think it shows the geographical diversification of this Executive Committee – the fact that new entities are entering and bringing energy and new ideas to this Executive Committee,” she said.

“I think it strengthened the International Conference so it’s a very good signal and I’m happy to welcome the Philippine authority in the group,” she added.

Liboro, describing the work of privacy commissions around the world, noted there was “a crisis of trust” brought about by “unauthorized profiling, surveillance, and increasing cases of personal data breaches.”

Following the high-profile hacking of Facebook, which affected around 29 million people in total and 755,973 people in the Philippines, the ICDPPC is pushing for more order when it comes to taking care of people’s data.

The NPC became a member of the ICDPPC in October 2016. – Rappler.com