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Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno on Tuesday questioned the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s practice of withholding suspects’ names by citing Republic Act 10173 or the Data Privacy Act.
In a clip of his speech posted on his Facebook page, Diokno asked why the identity of the gunman in the shooting at a basketball court of a condominium in Parañaque City was not disclosed by police investigators.
“Binabaluktot nila ang paggamit ng batas para protektahan ang ilang individual (They are bending the use of the law to protect a few individuals),” the lawmaker said.
Diokno pointed out that while the 59-year-old suspect was still at large, authorities refused to name him.
“They cited sensitive personal information under the Data Privacy Act. This justification is incorrect,” he said.
Diokno cited Section 4 of the Data Privacy Act, which identifies the scope of the law as well as the instances in which it cannot be applied.
He noted that this section “explicitly states information necessary in order to carry out the functions of law enforcement is not covered by the Data Privacy Law and therefore may be publicly disclosed.”
“Our investigation must review the PNP’s practice of selectively and incorrectly withholding names of suspects under the guise of the Data Privacy Act,” Diokno added.
GMA News Online is reaching out to the PNP for comment on this issue and will publish it once available.
Last week, authorities arrested the gunman in the shooting that killed two people and injured two others.
The suspect had two firearms on him. He was allegedly annoyed by the noise and the provocation of some of the victims during his stay at the condominium. — JMA, GMA Integrated News
