MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that it cannot give assurance on the security of the passport data following the possible personal data leak of passport holders.
DFA secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said in a statement that only an investigation to be conducted by the Senate can assure the public that there was no breach or loss of passport data.
“Only a Senate investigation will assure the public that there was no breach or loss of data. Until then, the Department can give no assurances on the safety and security of some data,” Locsin stressed.
He added: “For now, the Department of Foreign Affairs is taking the word of APO Production Unit that there is no breach in passport data and as sufficient justification in removing the birth certificate requirement in the renewal of passports.”
Members of the Senate and House of Representatives have filed resolution to look into the issue.
The National Privacy Commission has also met with the DFA to determine the scope of the passport data mess.
Locsin on Saturday said a former contractor for Philippine passports “took off” with personal data after the firm supposedly “got pissed when the Francois-Charles Oberthur Fiduciaire, or Oberthur contract was terminated” by the government.
“Because (the) previous contractor got pissed when terminated, it made off with data. We did nothing about it or couldn’t because we were in the wrong,” Locsin posted on Jan. 8.
On Tuesday, Locsin has retracted his earlier statement saying that there was no runaway of passport data but it was “made inaccessible.”
He also removed the birth certificate requirement for passport renewal./PN
