The National Privacy Commission (NPC) has issued a warning that leaking or misusing information from a public official’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) can lead to violations of the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (DPA).
NPC Deputy Commissioner Jose Belarmino II clarified that while the SALN is accessible under the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officers and Employees (RA 6713), the data it contains still includes sensitive personal information (SPI) such as complete addresses, details of minor children or personal investments—elements that are protected if freely disclosed without legitimate basis.
He emphasised that simply because data is made public does not mean all data fields are exempt from privacy protection. Data handlers—whether public or private—must adhere to the principles of legitimate purpose, data minimisation, and proportionality. Any disclosure or processing of these data must conform with the DPA’s requirements.
For example, the NPC noted that mass sharing of SALN spreadsheets or online publication of full data sets—especially if including sensitive personal identifiers—may open the door to mis-use such as identity theft or doxxing, and thus fall under the NPC’s enforcement oversight.