The National Privacy Commission (NPC) has recommended the filing of criminal charges against officials of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
This is in connection with the hacking of the COMELEC website between March 20 to 27, 2016.
The NPC says, COMELEC Chairman Andres Bautista committed “data breach.”
It also accuses Bautista and some commissioners and officials of the poll body, of violating provisions in the Republic Act 10173.
The agency says, “data privacy is more than the deployment of technical security. It also the implementation of organizational measures, as well as regular review, evaluation and updating of COMELEC’s privacy and security policies and practices.”
The NPC also states that the personal data in the breach includes the voter data base in the Precinct Finder web application that contains over 75 million records.
Violating the Data Privacy Act carries a penalty of 3 to 6 years imprisonment and a fine from half a million pesos to P 4 million.
In response, Bautista says, he will file an appeal on the case.
He notes, the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the law cited was only issued in August 2016 and it cannot be applied retroactively.
He also says, the poll body did its best to protect the privacy of its documents and files.