The Development Academy of the Philippines, through Senator Francis N. Tolentino’s Adaptive Governance and Innovation for Local Executives (AGILE) Program, presented the Talk Points webinar for 2023 featuring the topic “Where Every Juan’s Privacy Matters,” which highlighted important issues of cybersecurity and data privacy for Local Government Units (LGUs).

The webinar, which was held on August 16, 2023, was attended by some 300 participants, including local chief executives and key functionaries from various provinces, cities, and municipalities. It emphasized the prioritization of protecting the information provided by their constituents given the evolving nature of governance and threat to security.

Subject-matter experts Engr. George P. Tardio of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and Atty. Michael R. Santos of the National Privacy Commission (NPC) underscored the value of readiness, quick-response, resilience, and deterrence on the evolving threats to cybersecurity brought on by the government’s digitalization of services.

Tardio and Santos urged the participants, particularly the local leaders, to adhere to and abide by the Data Privacy Act (DPA) of 2012 as it is their duty to not only collect, but more crucially, protect their constituent’s data. “We comply with the law not because we have to, not because it is the law, not because there are penalties. We comply with the DPA because it is the right thing to do,” Atty. Michael Santos of NPC said in his discussion.

On the other hand, Atty. Dominique Puzon, Data Privacy Officer of San Juan, La Union, shared their journey of compliance with the DPA and the available cyber security services that other LGUs could avail to strengthen the security of their data files against illegal hacking, breaches, and attacks from the world web.

“Where Every Juan’s Privacy Matters” is the third and final part of the webinar series on digital initiatives at the local level that the DAP through its Center for Governance started last year. The series provided a context and foundation on digitization, highlighting how it leveled up public service delivery, followed by how it increased citizen participation over time.