Accenture and UnionBank of the Philippines topped the list of winners at the 1st Datos Privados Awards, which recognized companies and individuals who have implemented and pushed the best policies relating to data privacy.
Organized by the National Data Protection Officers of the Philippines (NADPOP), the 1st Datos Privados is the highlight of NADPOP?s data privacy conference 1*DATA Privacy and Security Solutions Day that showcased data privacy and security topics and industry best practices.
NADPOP founding president Sam Jacoba declared, “We are at war. You should know that. When at war, we should be prepared, and we should look after each other. This is why NADPOP is here, to help you.”
Out of hundreds of entries received nationwide, finalists were chosen and awarded a Bronze, Silver, and Gold Datos Privados trophies for individual and institutional categories.
The Gold Datos Privados awards were given to Accenture Philippines managing director legal compliance and regulatory affairs Millicent Desiderio-Dime and UnionBank chief technology and information officer Henry Aguda as pillars for data privacy in corporate governance, Dondi Mapa for the individual empowerment and enablement, TUV Rheinland Philippines for corporate empowerment and enablement, MIESCOR (Meralco Industrial Engineering Services Corporation) for its general awareness roadshow and the PLDT Group for its Handle with Care under the internal awareness category. UnionBank was also awarded another Gold Datos Privados for Data Privacy Enterprise Management System.
The winners of 1st Datos Privados represented the banking, business process outsourcing, utility, health, law and technology sectors.
Speaking at the 1st DATA conference, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT acting secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. introduced the National Information Communications Technology Ecosystem Framework (NICTEF) that will serve as the country?s backbone for digital revolution. He expressed the government?s commitment and accountability in securing data through maximizing the available platforms.
In closing, Jacoba cited an NPC data that there are 22,000 registered data protection officers nationwide. This, however, signifies a wide gap between available DPOs and the demand of millions of business companies in the country that should observe the Data Privacy Act.
?Many companies still do not invest in data privacy. Investing in data protection has long been overdue. What NADPOP can do is encourage these companies to comply to the Data Privacy Act and help empower the DPOs,? Jacoba said.
