Comelec urged to ensure data protection on proposed photos in voters' list

The National Privacy Commission (NPC) said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) should put in place measures that would ensure data privacy protection for its proposal to include photos in the list of registered voters outside polling precincts for the 2025 national and local elections (NLE). 

In a letter to Comelec chairperson Erwin Garcia, NPC Commissioner John Henry Naga said the Data Privacy Act (DPA) allows the poll body to collect and process voters’ data as a personal information controller (PIC) but it must “strictly ensure that processing of voters’ personal data complies with general data privacy principles”.

“Comelec shall guarantee that the processing of information is adequate, relevant, suitable, necessary, and not excessive in relation to a declared and specified purpose,” said Naga in a three-page letter. 

“To do this, the Comelec, as the PIC, shall conduct a judicious evaluation of whether the proposed measure is proportional to their declared purpose. It must also be evaluated if there are other less intrusive means available to them,” said Naga. 

The NPC chief added: “Personal data shall only be processed if the purpose could not be reasonably fulfilled by any other means. On top of these, the Comelec shall have necessary and appropriate security controls in place”.

Further, the privacy commission said the Comelec should hold a “thorough risk assessment” on its proposal before its implementation. 

“Comelec shall consider, most of all, the principle of proportionality,” said Naga. “Should it be found to be indeed suitable and necessary, the Comelec must then place controls that uphold data subjects' reasonable and appropriate organizational, physical and technical measures intended for the protection of personal data”. 

In March, the Comelec said the list of registered voters to be posted outside polling precincts for the 2025 polls would also include photos. 

Latest data from the Comelec showed there were over 2.5 million new voters for the 2025 NLE, nearing its three million target. However, some 4.2 million names were delisted from the Comelec voters’ list due to failure to vote in two successive preceding regular elections, by court order, loss of Filipino citizenship, and having non-valid documents.—LDF, GMA Integrated News