By Espie Angelica A. de Leon
The country’s first data privacy awards, called the Datos Privados Awards for Service, Excellence, Leadership, and Innovation or simply the Privado, had its soft launching on Wednesday, November 21, at Romulo Cafe in Makati City.
Organized by the National Association of Data Protection Officers of the Philippines (NADPOP), the Privado seeks to recognize individuals, institutions, and programs which help uphold the significance of data privacy and protection in the country.
“NADPOP exists to empower DPOs,? said the association?s founding president Sam Jacoba. ?Through the first Datos Privados Awards, we will further strengthen the country?s data ecosystem that emerged when the Data Privacy Act was signed into law in 2012.?
The Privado will complement the efforts of the National Privacy Commission (NPC) in ensuring data protection in major industries. It will also contribute to NADPOP?s vision of turning the Philippines into a Global Center of Excellence for Data Privacy.
This year, the NPC investigated several incidents of data breach in the country including the case of the Miss Earth beauty pageant in Manila where some candidates complained of sexual harassment. The harassment could have stemmed from a possible violation of the Data Privacy Act.
Other data breach cases which recently hogged the headlines include those involving Facebook, Cathay Pacific, and Singapore?s SingHealth where medical information of 1.5 million patients were stolen, including that of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
?With the Privado Awards, NADPOP hopes that more and more DPOs will ensure that the personal information that they manage will be protected 24/7,? said the group?s founding chair Titus Manuel.
?We need to strengthen the privacy practice in all the institutions,? Jacoba added.
Winners will be chosen in different categories based on evaluation by the Search and Awards Committee and by individual voting of NADPOP members who number to more than 200. Jacoba leads the Search and Awards Committee as overall chair.
Open to both members and non-members of NADPOP, the first Datos Privados Awards will be officially launched on December 6 which marks the association?s year-ender celebration. During the launch, the initial list of nominees will be announced.
The deadline for submission of nominees will be on January 18, 2019. Voting and final deliberation will follow thereafter.
The Privado awards ceremony will be on January 29, 2019 during the 1st NADPOP Data Privacy Conference called 1*DATA at Makati Shangri-La Manila.
