QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) — The Department of Health cannot share with the Public Attorney’s Office the masterlist of persons who had been vaccinated with Dengvaxia, according to the National Privacy Commission (NPC).
The NPC said that disclosure of the masterlist of Dengvaxia vaccinees to PAO as requested by its chief Atty. Persida Acosta was against the law since PAO was not the legal counsel of these persons who had been given the said controversial vaccine.
NPC Commissioner Raymond Liboro said that under the Data Privacy Act of 2012, public offices are not allowed to disclose information to government agencies without the permission of the person subject of the information.
Liboro made the statement after the Public Attorneys’ Office asked the DOH for a copy of the Dengvaxia masterlist, and even questioned why the department is not releasing the list to PAO.
“Should the PAO be authorized as the legal representative of the minor data subjects, they may then be provided information on the particular data subject they are representing, subject to the presentation of proof of such authorization,” Liboro said in a statement.
Liboro also said that government agencies have no blanket authority to access or use information about private individuals which is under the safekeeping of another agency.
“We emphasize that the government is one of the biggest repositories of the personal data of citizens. The government or its agencies, however, do not have the blanket authority to access or use the information about private individuals under the custody of another agency,” he added.