Tag: DFA

Data of passport applicants “made inaccessible,” Locsin clarifies

(Eagle News)–Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Tuesday, Jan. 15, clarified the data of passport applicants at the Department of Foreign Affairs was merely “made inaccessible” by former contractor Oberthur Technologies. Locsin issued the clarification after he said the former contractor “ran away” with all data after the contract with the firm was terminated. Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay, however, said what Locsin said was impossible, as Oberthur complied with its contractual obligations when APO […]

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DFA expresses hope five missing Filipino seafarers reported missing off Hawaii will be found

(Eagle News)–The Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday, Jan. 15, expressed hope the five Filipino seafarers reported missing off the waters of Hawaii would be found. In a statement, the DFA said the five were among 21 Filipino crew members of the MV Sincerity Ace who “abandoned the Panamanian-flagged vessel after it caught fire on New Year’s Eve some 1,800 nautical miles northwest of Oahu.” The ship was on its way to Hawaii when it caught […]

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DFA: Filipino newly-weds drown during honeymoon in Maldives

(Eagle News)—A newlywed Filipino couple drowned while snorkelling during their honeymoon in the Maldives, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday, Jan. 14. The DFA did not identify the victims, but said the 29-year-old wife and her 30-year-old husband were guests at a resort in Dhiffushi island when the incident took place. The two are from Laguna and had gotten married on Dec. 18. “Both were rescued by resort workers but were pronounced dead […]

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Palace to DFA, PCOO, printing firm: Explain passport data mess

(Eagle News)—–The Palace on Monday, Jan. 14, said it would ask the Department of Foreign Affairs, a private firm and the Presidential Communications Operations Office to explain the passport data mess at the DFA. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the statement after former Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay defended  Francois-Charles Oberthur Fiduciare from allegations it stole passport applicants’ data when its contract was terminated. Yasay said the French firm had already complied with its contractual obligations […]

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Locsin: No leak of passport data so far

(Eagle News)—-Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Monday, Jan. 14, said there was so far “no leak” of data, even with the reported passport data mess at the Department of Foreign Affairs. In a Tweet, Locsin said it was possible the data was “hopelessly corrupted and at any rate inaccessible now..” “..Or we are being lied to as usual,” Locsin said. Locsin said a former passport maker of the DFA made off with passport […]

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Palace backs probe into passport data mess at DFA

(Eagle News)–The Palace on Monday, Jan. 14, said it backed a probe into the passport data mess at the Department of Foreign Affairs. In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the incident was, after all, a “grave and serious matter.” Panelo said the National Privacy Commission “has been directed” to look into the incident and determine whether certain provisions of the Data Privacy Act of 2012 have been violated, “particularly with respect to the […]

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Locsin says he will name past, present DFA officials behind passport data mess

(Eagle News)–Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Sunday, Jan. 13, said he would name present and past Department of Foreign Affairs officials behind the passport data mess at the agency. Locsin said, however, that he was not keen on summoning them. “Let the Senate investigate and the DOJ (Department of Justice) prosecute if ever,” he said. Locsin also confirmed it was the contract  with French  firm Francois-Charles Oberthur Fiduciare for the production of e-passports that […]

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Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Yasay: Private firm “illegally” printing e-passports

(Eagle News)—Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay on Sunday, Jan. 13, revealed a private company has been printing e-passports illegally at the Department of Foreign Affairs. According to Yasay, the DFA on Oct. 5, 2015 awarded the contract for the e-printing services to APO Production Unit Inc., a government printing facility, without bidding despite the contract for the procurement and production of machine-readable electronic passports being awarded beforehand to François-Charles Oberthur Fiduciare of France through its Philippine […]

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National Privacy Commission to probe loss of data of passport applicants at DFA

(Eagle News)—The National Privacy Commission will look into the loss of data of passport applicants at the Department of Foreign Affairs. In a statement, Commissioner Raymund Liboro said he would summon the  alleged contractor that made off with the data,  the DFA, and other pertinent agencies. “Any form of non-availability of personal data, infringement of the rights of data subjects, and harms from processing that include inconveniencing the public, must be adequately explained to the satisfaction of […]

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Locsin: DFA’s former passport maker made off with all applicants’ data

(Eagle News)–Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has said the Department of Foreign Affairs’ former passport maker has run off with all passport applicants’ data. Locsin made the revelation as he urged those renewing their passports to bring their birth certficates with them as a result. DFA Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato said the birth certificates should be brought by applicants renewing brown or green passports or maroon machine-readable ones  because “we need to capture and […]

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DFA still checking if Filipinos among casualties in Los Angeles shooting

(Eagle News)–The Department of Foreign Affairs is still checking if Filipinos were among the casualties in a shooting incident in a bowling alley in California last Friday. In a statement, the DFA said the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles was coordinating with the authorities of Torrance, where the shooting incident took place, for this. Consul General Adelio Angelito Cruz said that there were approximately 4,000 Filipinos in the coastal city. The shooting allegedly took […]

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DFA still checking if Filipinos among casualties in Denmark train crash

(Eagle News)–The Department of Foreign Affairs is still checking whether Filipinos were among the  people reported killed and injured in a recent train crash in Denmark. In a statement, the DFA said based on a report from Ambassador to Denmark Jocelyn Batoon-Garcia,  Consul General Poul Krogh was checking with Danish authorities if any of the 12,000 members of the Filipino community was among the six killed or 16 injured in the incident that involved a commuter […]

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