SM Hotels and Conventions Corp.’s (SMHCC) Contact Tracing Technology Receives Citation from the National Privacy Commission


Driven by a culture of quality and safety, SMHCC properties across the country use a contact tracing technology, which has recently been regarded by the National Privacy Commission as a best practice in handling contact tracing data in the country.   

The said contact tracing platform strengthens SMHCC’s SustainablySafe Program targeted towards intensifying health and hygiene protocols in all its properties. Through the said platform, guests experience a pleasant and hassle-free navigation without unnecessary questions and thumb movements/thumb clicks. Designed with a user-friendly interface, it works on any platform, browser, and any type of mobile phone.

More importantly, as SMHCC strictly adheres to the Data Privacy Act, the usage of the platform closely takes into account its guests’ right to privacy and ensures it is respected in all forms. A brainchild of Mr. Eric S. Uy, SMHCC Vice-President for Technical Services, he stresses that “the thrust of the platform calls for an appeal to guests’ sense of civic duty. We do not force them into anything and we do not repurpose the data for any other objective apart from strict compliance to health protocols.” With each and every institution now striving to continue to rise above the pandemic, Mr. Uy further says that “whatever we lack in terms of resources, we compensate through creativity and ingenuity. These are the building blocks and main drivers integrated into SMHCC’s ways of working.”

After a successful pilot in SM properties, including SMHCC, the same technology is now being used by SM Supermalls, one of Southeast Asia’s biggest developers and operator of malls in the Philippines. With this type of versatility and universal adaptability, it does not also come as a surprise that even government entities and some healthcare institutions patterned their respective contact tracing initiatives after this SMHCC-developed software.

Inspired by a continued sense of purpose and innovation, SMHCC is humbled to have been an instrument in providing a contact tracing initiative that may easily be adapted by institutions, which contribute to the government’s ongoing efforts to fight COVID-19.