The National Association of Data Protection Officers of the Philippines (NADPOP), the country’s first non-government organization that aims to help transform the Philippines into a Global Center of Excellence for Data Privacy and Cybersecurity called on the public and private sectors to work together to uplift the Data Protection profession in the Philippines.
“As the world emerges from the pandemic, the incidence of data breaches and cybercrimes will continue to increase as most businesses and individuals were forced to go online,” Sam Jacoba, NADPOP Founding President said at the 5th Annual NADPOP YearEnder: Data Privacy and Cybersecurity in 2023 conference that happened today at the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Manila Bay Hotel.
With the overall theme this year is “Strengthening Competencies. Building Capabilities.” the first face-to-face event of NADPOP when the pandemic started hosted two hundred plus attendees who are mostly Data Protection Officers (DPOs), Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and CXOs.
“Our YearEnder always aims to prepare data protection professionals for the coming year. We are grateful that practitioners and thought leaders from the government shared their expertise at the event,” Jacoba said.
The keynote speakers from the government include National Privacy Commission Chairman John Henry Naga, Department of Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Denis Villorente, Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Lord Villanueva, and Comelec Commissioner Nelson Celis. From the private sector, Citibank Regional Data Privacy Officer Dondi Mapa and PH-CERT/CC Chairman and Founder Lito Averia led the speakers.
The YearEnder was preceded by the 1st Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Professionals’ Summit that introduced NADPOP’s eight Data Protection Enabling Capabilities which outlined a data protection maturity roadmap for organizations. Some of the speakers of the summit include the following: Leah Besa-Jimenez, PLDT Group DPO; Laxmi Russel, Accenture Inc. Senior Data Privacy Counsel; Princess Ascalon, Asia Pacific Privacy Policy Leader at IBM; and, Engr. Pierre Galla of USAID’s Better Access and Connectivity (BEACON) Activity.
