Dear Atty. Angela,
I am an HR officer of a company and there were police officers that went to the office presenting a warrant of arrest against one of our employees. The said employee has been absent for the past days without authorized leaves. The police officer is asking for the employee’s personal information like complete name, address and contact details. I am afraid to disclose any information as our policy on data privacy is very strict. With this scenario, can I give out said employee’s details without violating the law?
Maya
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Dear Maya,
Based on the facts you have provided, you are allowed to disclose the personal information of the subject employee without breach of the data privacy law.
Under Section 13, Republic Act 10173, otherwise known as “Data Privacy Act of 2012,” aside from obtaining the consent of the person involved, it shall be permitted to disclose personal information in cases where there is a legitimate cause or lawful need for the protection of lawful rights, when provided to the government institution or public authority:
“SEC. 13. Sensitive Personal Information and Privileged Information. — The processing of sensitive personal information and privileged information shall be prohibited, except in the following cases:
(f) The processing concerns such personal information as is necessary for the protection of lawful rights and interests of natural or legal persons in court proceedings, or the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, or when provided to government or public authority.”
In this case, there is a warrant of arrest issued against the subject employee and it is the company’s duty to disclose information of a person of interest to fulfill the functions of public authority which includes the processing of personal data for the fulfillment of its mandate.
Atty. Angela Antonio