Sen. Leila de Lima said fixers have migrated to Facebook to capitalize on the delays in the passport renewal services of the DFA, noting that these "fixers" have figured out how to make multiple online reservations for passport renewals and are profiting by selling these slots to desperate Filipino travelers.
Senator Leila M. de Lima has joined the call to hold government officials and private contractors involved in the passport data mess at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) accountable for their failure to protect people's personal data.
Michael Dalumpines, chairman of APO Production Unit Inc. (APUI), said in an interview with reporters that contrary to the claim of DFA secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., no passport data were stolen.
According to Sen. Nancy Binay, the Office of the Solicitor General should ensure that all contracts have a clause that all data handled by third-party data management providers would revert to the government even after the termination or end of its contract.
In filing Senate Resolution No. 981, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said that despite explanations in social media coming from DFA chief Teodoro Locsin Jr. and his predecessor Perfecto Yasay Jr., "there still is no clarity as to who is responsible for the non-availability of Filipino passport data."
The National Privacy Commission has stated that it will launch its own investigation on the DFA?s assertion that the private contractor has caused the non-availability of data and other documents entrusted to it for processing.
The ePayment Portal requires passport applicants to prepay the processing fees through selected payment centers and, eventually, through debit and credit cards and through over-the-counter cash transactions in select banks.