Our Firm’s John Paul M. Gaba, a Partner of the Intellectual Property Department, delivered a lecture on the Data Privacy Act (DPA) before the officers and members of Rotary Club of Cosmopolitan Cubao District 3780 last 19 September 2019 held in Quezon City.
Mr. Gaba talked about the salient features of the DPA, its implementing rules and regulations, and various issuances of the National Privacy Commission (NPC) – the country’s lead agency for data privacy protection. He focused on the impact of the law on current business practices, the need to comply with the requirements and standards, and the penalties for violations. He gave general guidance and practical tips on how DPA compliance – from appointment of the organization’s Data Protection Officer to registration with the NPC and creating a privacy compliance framework and fostering a “culture of privacy” within the organization.
Mr. Gaba specializes in intellectual property, information technology and cyberspace/internet law, and data privacy/data protection law. He assists clients on DPA compliance and handles both contentious and non-contentious data privacy matters and cases. As early as 2003, he actively participated as a member of the first Technical Working Group on the drafting of Privacy Legislation under the auspices of the then Information Technology & Electronic Commerce Council (ITECC), the predecessor of the Department of Information & Communications Technology.
Mr. Gaba is a Member of the International Association of Privacy Practitioners, and a professorial lecturer of the Philippine Judicial Academy and a Regular Member of its Department of Court Technology.