The Data Privacy Act (RA 10173): Here’s What You Need To Know

Around 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created daily. We now live in an age where digital data is part of our daily lives — part of our personalities and identities. Given this fact, there is a real need to change the way organizations handle data and workflows to ensure the protection of private information.

All companies handle some form of personal information — from employee to client to end-user data — therefore all companies are now responsible to protect the confidentiality, preserve the integrity, and promote the availability of data for authorized use.

What is The Data Privacy Act of the Philippines?

The Data Privacy Act (DPA), or Republic Act No. 10173 was passed by the Philippines Congress in 2012 and finally implemented five years later in 2016. RA 10173 assures the “free flow of information to promote innovation and growth”(Republic Act. No. 10173, Ch. 1, Sec. 2) while protecting the users’ fundamental rights to privacy.

How is it implemented?

RA 10173 protects and maintains the right of customers to confidentiality by setting a legal list of rules for companies to regulate the collection, handling, and disposal of all personal information.

Companies legally responsible for keeping their customers’ data protected from third parties or any form of misuse, internally or externally.

What does that mean for data collectors/companies?

The Act applies to any process of personal data by anyone in government or private sectors.

All personal data must have legitimate reasons for collection as well as should be clear to both parties giving and receiving information. With that being said, all collection must be done with the customer the customers’ proper consent.  

All personal information used must also be relevant solely used for its intended and state purposes. Companies must protect customer information from collection to proper disposal, avoiding access from unauthorized parties.

What is “personal information?”

“‘Personal information’” refers to any information, whether recorded in a material form or not, from which the identity of an individual is apparent or can be reasonably and directly ascertained by the entity holding the information, or when put together with other information would directly and certainly identify an individual” (Republic Act. No. 10173, Ch. 1, Sec. 3).

What is “sensitive personal information?”

“(1) About an individual’s race, ethnic origin, marital status, age, color, and religious, philosophical or political affiliations;

(2) About an individual’s health, education, genetic or sexual life of a person, or to any proceeding for any offense committed or alleged to have been committed by such person, the disposal of such proceedings, or the sentence of any court in such proceedings;

(3) Issued by government agencies peculiar to an individual which includes, but not limited to, social security numbers, previous or cm-rent health records, licenses or its denials, suspension or revocation, and tax returns; and

(4) Specifically established by an executive order or an act of Congress to be kept classified.”

(Republic Act. No. 10173, Ch. 1, Sec. ).

What is “consent?”

Consent of the data subject refers to any freely given, specific, informed indication of will, whereby the data subject agrees to the collection and processing of personal information about and/or relating to him or her. Consent shall be evidenced by written, electronic or recorded means. It may also be given on behalf of the data subject by an agent specifically authorized by the data subject to do so  (Republic Act. No. 10173, Ch. 1, Sec. 1).

What are the rights of the data subject?

The data subject or the individual sharing his/her personal information has to be fully informed of several factors of the data collecting process. This list includes, but isn’t limited to:

(1) the reason for use

(2) methods for access

(3) the identity and contact details of the personal information controller

(4) how long the information will be stored for

(5) access to their rights.

What steps do I need to take in compliance with the Act?

Companies essentially have to ensure that their data collection methods are flawless as well as consistently share the entire process with data subjects, including a breach of security, should there be any.

To do this, companies should appoint a Data Protection Officer and create privacy knowledge programs and privacy and data policies to regulate the handling of information, as well as routine assessments to ensure quality data protection.

In addition, companies must also have a proper procedure for breach notification to its customers.

What happens if I do not comply?

Improper/unauthorized processing, handling or disposal of personal information can be penalized by imprisonment up to six years and a fine of not less than Five hundred thousand pesos (PHP 500,000).

Sprout Solutions puts data privacy with the utmost priority and takes advanced measures to maintain confidentiality in information handling.

We encourage all companies to look through the Data Privacy Act and secure the safety of their own data privacy processes.

 

Sources:

Republic Act 10173 – Data Privacy Act of 2012. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2018, from https://privacy.gov.ph/data-privacy-act/#3

 

The Beginner’s Guide to RA 10173 (Data Privacy Act of 2012). (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2018, from https://amihan.net/2017/07/10/beginners_guide_to_ra_10173/

 

Privacy Tracker | Summary: Philippines Data Privacy Act and implementing regulations Related reading: Countdown to GDPR: Part 1 – Essential structures for GDPR compliance. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2018, from https://iapp.org/news/a/summary-philippines-data-protection-act-and-implementing-regulations/

 

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Encouraging employee engagement

Employee engagement is one of the key drivers of company productivity and success, but it is also one factor that cannot be bought or forced. Rather, it comes from an office culture that nurtures and motivates its employees.

Businesses with the right office culture will inevitably have workers that will advocate the brand, produce exceptional work, and will more likely stay for a longer period of time– given that they share the same values of the company and have the opportunity for career growth.  

With that being said, employee engagement starts from the top: the foundations of good office culture come from the CEO and managers that fosters a sense of community: bosses that have little to no interaction with employees will have less engagement than ones that are open and consistently communicate with their team.

While culture is not coerced but rather happens organically, there are ways for managers to cultivate an encouraging environment where their team will strive to work towards their own and the company’s growth.

Recruit people with the same values

High engagement comes from employees that share the same values as their own. When their passions and drive are similar to that of the company’s, creating and achieving goals will not only be beneficial to the employee but to the company as well.

Employees that aren’t aligned or don’t agree with the business’s vision will not perform to their maximum capacity nor will they achieve goals with the right intentions.

With that, while this process is usually done in the recruiting phase, businesses can also brainstorm with their current employees on how to continue to promote their vision and culture among the entire team.

Recognize Efforts

It’s innate for humans to feel a more of a sense of accomplishment when their efforts are acknowledged, especially by higher-ups.

An award from the manager or CEO increases motivation to continue to work towards improvement; awards could be verbal or physical such as a gift certificate or a printed award of appreciation.

Another example of this would be the Sales bell at Sprout– members of the sales team gets to ring the bell whenever they close a deal. A round of applause and cheering from the entire office follows, which is a small but impactful way of praise and encouragement, and in turn, boosts morale.

Teamwork makes the dream work

While the foundations of office culture come from the CEO and managers, it is survived by the rest of the team.

Thus, it’s important to foster camaraderie among employees to open lines of communication and in turn, increase productivity. When employees are friends with each other and their managers, they will feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts.

This way, they are able to collaborate with one another across any department, sharing their expertise and as a result, increase the company dynamic.  

A good way to foster teamwork like this is through team building excursions as well as a buddy program for incoming employees. It is natural for new hires to be timid, but with a designated person to reach out to, it will be easier for them to communicate their thoughts and ideas in the office.

Open communication

While bosses should always maintain the employer-employee relationship to some extent, employees should still feel like they are able to reach out to them for any query, thoughts, or suggestions.

Performance appraisals are common but are often one-sided and if not, can be a quite passive medium. An alternative option is the One-on-one Meeting; where employees sit down with any or all of their higher-ups separately and talk about any updates or concerns.

This way, both parties have each other’s undivided attention and will have an opportunity to voice out anything in full disclosure and without the pressure that an appraisal brings, as one-on-ones should happen often, regardless if there are any issues or for a mere catch up about work life in general.

Keep the culture fun

Work perks are a great way to boost office morale and engagement. Activities such as free lunch, gym memberships, or a game room will keep the week exciting, reduce work-related stress, and decrease absences.

These kinds of perks will also encourage advocacy of the company culture from employees, whether it’s in social media or word of mouth. This way, word about how your company is a great place to work will spread and will benefit your overall reputation as a business.

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source https://sprout.ph/blog/encouraging-employee-engagement/