City officials recently requested the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) to furnish the local legislative body a list of data that are available under the community-based Monitoring System (CBMs) and clarification from City Human Resource Management Officer Atty. Agustin P. Laban III, designated Data Protection Officer, whether a request for information from members of the city council in aid of legislation needs to be notarized.
Under Resolution No. 344, series of 2023, local legislators stated that since the CBMS is a new program of the city, flow of information between the local government and the requesting or receiving parties require the widest dissemination and understanding by the public.
Further, the body claimed that there may also be a need to gather suggestions that may help improve the implementation of the said program.
Earlier, local legislators raised matters, issues and suggestions on the proposed resolution introduced by Councilor betty Lourdes F. Tabanda that requested the designated Protection Officer, the management information and Technology Division, and the CPDO to orient the city council on the procedures for the transfer and sharing of personal data process from the CBMS.
Republic Act (RA) 10173 otherwise known as the Data Privacy Act of 2012 declared it a policy of the State to protect the fundamental human right to privacy of communication while ensuring free flow of information to promote innovation and growth.
The State also recognized the vital role of information and communications technology in nation-building and its inherent obligation to ensure that personal information and communications systems in the government and in the private sector are secured and protected.
On the other hand, RA 11335 otherwise known as the Community-based Monitoring system Act stated that community-based monitoring system refers to an organized technology-based system of collecting, processing and validating necessary dis-aggregated data that may be used for planning, program implementation and impact monitoring at the local level while empowering communities to participate in the said process.
Among the objectives of the CBMS is to establish collection, data sharing, and information management systems which shall respect the fundamental human rights to privacy.
The local government, through the CPDO, has formulated a program where the transfer and sharing of data process from the CBMS shall be implemented with appropriate security measures and shall strictly adhere to the provisions of RA 10173.
