By Shalom Gauri
Published on 20 September 2023
Maristela Miranda, senior associate at LIGHTS Institute in the Philippines, spoke at APrIGF of the long-drawn battle for public access to former president Rodrigo Duterte’s SALN (statement of assets, liabilities and net worth) and the manner in which data privacy laws are being used to enable corruption in the Philippines.
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PDP laws are often inconsistently implemented specifically to provide immunity for government and corporate activity. Jam Jacob at the Foundation for Media Alternatives, an APC member in the Philippines, says, “This was evident when law enforcement authorities engaged in illegal profiling activities against lawyers, teachers, government employees and other individuals they had branded as supportive of terrorist groups. The most that the DP authority did was to remind law enforcement about the need to comply with the law. It did not carry out any investigation, let alone hold parties administratively accountable!”