ID systems have an important place in everyday life. They allow people to access essential services and enjoy their rights as citizens of a country. Using them, however, can become problematic when they don’t accurately reflect a person’s identity. This is the case with the Philippines where there are currently Read more…
A Pandemic as Vector for State Surveillance and Other Abuses This comprehensive report documents and analyzes various initiatives introduced by the Philippine government during this public health crisis, particularly those that significantly impact privacy and data protection. Publication date: September 2021 DOWNLOAD: A Pandemic as Vector for State Surveillance and Read more…
How does the Covid-19 pandemic impact public health surveillance and our privacy rights? In the Philippines’ national capital region (NCR), military and police enforce a ‘community quarantine’ that restricts human movement in and outside Metro Manila, subject to necessary exceptions. Leaders urge citizens to practice social distancing to avoid exposure. Read more…
The Foundation for Media Alternatives expresses grave concerns over the alleged misuse of confidential funds by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for the purpose of conducting surveillance activities. On Monday, February 3, former DICT Undersecretary Eliseo Rio, Jr. confirmed his resignation from the agency, citing the lack Read more…
11 July 2017 Foundation for Media Alternatives’ statement on a national ID system Officials of the Department of Finance made headlines recently with the pronouncement that the government plans to earmark PhP2 billion for the implementation of a national ID system next year. Together with their peers in the Read more…
Foundation for Media Alternatives, in partnership with the Commission on Human Rights and with the cooperation of the National Privacy Commission and the Department of Information and Communications Technology, conducted its third national workshop on surveillance on 18 November 2016 at the DICT AVR. Entitled TIKTIK 3.0: Rise of a Philippine Read more…
With a history immersed in years of colonialism and tainted by martial law, Philippine society is no stranger to surveillance. Even now, tales of past regimes tracking their citizens’ every move find their way into people’s everyday conversations. This, for the most part, has kept Filipinos vigilant over their hard-earned Read more…
COMMUNICATIONS LANDSCAPE The Philippines has a total population of over 100 million people[1] and was estimated to reach 101.6 million in 2015. The country had a national internet penetration figure of around 40 % in 2014.[2] Overall, 45 million people are active Internet users,[3] while 32 million are active mobile internet users.[4] The country ranks first Read more…