The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) said all Filipinos should know that “we have a basic constitutional right to privacy -- not only in our houses, in our offices but also to information, personal information.”
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
“And nobody has the right to demand that (information) of us unless there’s clear legal basis,“ IBP President Domingo Egon Q. Cayosa said in an interview on Thursday, April 22.
In the case of the reported profiling of some organizers of community pantries that dole out food to the needy, Cayosa said the police should provide a clear legal basis for the extraction of personal information.
“Merong court order ba? (Is there a court order?) Was there a crime committed?” are the questions that should be asked immediately when a person is subjected to profiling even by the police or other law enforcers, he said.
He pointed out that persons subjected to profiling should seek the assistance of the Data Privacy Commission.
“If there was no legal basis for those personal details and information that were taken by the police officers, they can request that this data be deleted,” he said.
“And it should be encouraged para matigil na ito (to put a stop to this)”, they can take legal action against the police officers, he stressed.
Complaints can be filed for violations of the Data Privacy Act and the constitutional right of citizens, or administratively and criminally charged under the provisions of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, he said.
In administrative cases, policemen can either be reprimanded or dismissed from the service, he added.