MANILA - The Philippine National Police must consider data privacy rights in its plan to monitor social media for quarantine violations, the country’s Privacy Commissioner said Monday.

Leads and evidence obtained to enforce the law must also be “legally obtained,” Privacy Commissioner Raymund Liboro said in a statement.

“The plan by the Philippine National Police to scan social media for violators of quarantine protocols must recognize the data privacy rights of individuals,” Liboro said.

“It is essential for the police to allay the fears of the community by explaining the measures they employ in enforcing quarantine rules and evaluating possible violators, how they observe the rights of citizens and how they mitigate the risks to individual’s privacy,” he added.

READ: National Privacy Commision (@PrivacyPH) on PNP’s plan to monitor social media for quarantine violators. pic.twitter.com/OVZHSQ4Ovv

— Jacque Manabat (@jacquemanabat) September 7, 2020

The Joint Task Force COVID-19 Shield on Saturday ordered the police to monitor social media for violations of quarantine protocols.

• Police to monitor social media for COVID-19 protocol violations

On Monday, Joint Task Force COVID-19 Shield chief Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar clarified that the police would focus on complaints sent to its official account and to act on those complaints.