QUEZON CITY, September 29, 2023 – To ensure smooth run of the Data Privacy and Management Workshop on October 2 to 6, 2023, the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) National Program Management Office (NPMO) together with the Legal Service office of the Department of Agriculture (DA) convened to establish clear rules and expectations, goals and agenda, and deliver the content for the activity last September 15.

Following the Republic Act No. 10173, also known as Data Privacy Act (DPA) that seeks to protect all forms of information be it private, personal, or sensitive, Attorney Willie Ann Angsiy, Director of the DA Legal Service discussed the need of the agency’s attached bureaus and programs to abide in the said law. When sharing data, especially with SAAD, which serves the most marginalized sectors in the country, there should be an agreement that provides adequate safeguards for the rights of data subjects, in compliance with the international data protection standards set by the National Privacy Commission (NPC).

The purpose of this mandate is to protect the fundamental human right of every individual to privacy while ensuring the free flow of information for innovation, growth, and national development.

The purpose of the workshop then is to provide SAAD regional and provincial arms – for both agriculture and fishery sector, with clear and consistent instructions regarding responsible data handling procedures while also encouraging questions and feedback from the participants after which the implementing rules and regulations of the DPA were being presented.

During the meeting, Director Ulysses Lustria Jr. is positive on what will be the outcome of the workshop. The upcoming activity, he said, will help the program improve its data handling procedures and promote data privacy awareness.

Added by NPMO IT Unit Head Mr. Randy Ocampo, the workshop will safeguard and protect the personal data of clients, particularly the farmer and fisherfolk beneficiaries of the program, thereby helping the program toward intensive protection of data privacy rights as part of governance responsibilities.

The inputs from this workshop will be encapsulated in one SAAD data privacy manual centered around how data should be collected, stored, managed, and shared online, print, and with any third parties – aligned with the international data protection standards set by the NPC. According to Mr. Ocampo, the manual will be initially drafted during the workshop, while the final output will be presented during the National IT Assessment Database from October 23 to 27.

Participants in the said activity will include staff from the National Program Management Office (NPMO), National Program Management Support Office (NPMSO) of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Regional Program Management Support Offices (RPMSOs) of both DA and BFAR. representatives of the Office of the Secretary (OSEC),  Agriculture and Fisheries Information Division (AFID) of DA Central Office, and all Regional Agricultural and Fisheries Information Divisions (RAFIS) are also expected to attend the workshop. ###

Writer: Kathleen Faye B. Agonoy, DA-SAAD NPMO Information Officer