Dear Atty. Kathy,

My sister is one of the accused in the robbery case filed by their employer-company. Among the evidence provided to the court by the company against my sister are private group chat messages where she allegedly gave instructions how to bring out the items from the warehouse and to whom to sell the items. Is this not a violation of her right to privacy/data privacy?

Jan

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Dear Jan,

Republic Act 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 allows the processing of personal information gathered for the purpose of investigations in relation to any criminal, administrative or tax liabilities of a data subject (Section 19).

The processing of sensitive personal information and privileged information is also not prohibited when the same is necessary for the protection of lawful rights and interest 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 (Section 13 [f], Data Privacy Act of 2012).

Based solely on your narration, the private group chat messages were provided to the court as evidence that you allegedly gave instructions as to how the warehouse items were brought out of the warehouse and to whom to sell the items. Thus, there is no violation of the right to privacy, since the law allows processing of information for the purpose of investigations on criminal liabilities and when the same is necessary for the protection of lawful rights in court proceedings, as in your sister’s case.

(People of the Philippines vs. Eul Vincent O. Rodriguez, G.R. No. 263603, 9 October 2023)

Atty. Kathy Larios