menu

SECTIONS

Monday, January 14, 2019

search

TODAY'S PAPER

insert_drive_file

 NEWS

 OPINION

 SPORTS
  LIFESTYLE

 PREEN

 ENTERTAINMENT

 BUSINESS

 TECHNOLOGY

 GLOBAL NATION

ADVERTISEMENT

NATION

 2,461

SHARES


Yasay: No data stolen; Locsin ‘misinformed’ about passport data breach

By: Daphne Galvez - Reporter / @DYGalvezINQ

INQUIRER.net / 10:46 AM January 14, 2019

MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin Jr. could have been
“misinformed” about the data breach issue in the agency as there was no data stolen by a
previous contractor, a former Foreign Affairs chief said Monday.

Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said that the previous contractor, Francois-
Charles Oberthur Fiduciare of France or “Oberthur” could not have run away with the data.

He explained that when the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) awarded the production of a
new electronic passport system to APO Production Unit Inc. (APUI) which subcontracted to a
United Graphic Expression Corporation (UGEC), Oberthur simply “withdrew” as it already
finished its contract.

“When APO and UGEC came in, Oberthur withdrew. After all it was just assisting the
government in the management of the operating system for free, the Oberthur already
completed its contract,” Yasay said in an interview over ABS CBN News Channel.

“To say now that Oberthur ran away with the data is completely false,” he added.

Yasay said that Locsin might have been “misinformed” by “certain officials” of the Department
of Foreign Affairs (DFA) about the issue to “deflect the real issue of the passport mess.”

“The explanation that certain officials told him was that because the previous contractor in the
preparation of the personalized system ran away with that system with the data,” Yasay said.

“So it was to my mind on that score that Secretary Locsin was misinformed,” he added.

Yasay surmised that the “certain officials” of the DFA told Locsin that the Oberthur ran away
with the data because they wanted to cover up the agency’s law violation.

“The only compelling reason I could see is because they wanted to deflect the real issue of the
passport mess, which is awarding the production of the passport from an end-to-end basis to
APO (APUI) without any bidding and APO in turn subcontracted to a private firm known as UGEC
in violation with the law,” he said.

He earlier explained that APO, which is a government printing facility, was awarded a contract
without bidding on condition that no part of the contract can be subcontracted or assigned to a
private printer.

Yasay said that when the APO and UGEC took over the passport production, the data, which was
initially in the facility of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), was moved to a facility in Lipa,
Batangas.

The former Foreign Affairs secretary then surmised that the data just could not be accessed by
the DFA because of the new system by UGEC and APO.

“The system that was created by Oberthur is a system that they put up that UGEC cannot
transfer to the new system for one reason or another, they had technological incapacity to
transfer that information from the old system to the new system of UGEC and APO,” he said.

Yasay then reiterated that it is “preposterous and malicious and completely false” to say that
data was stolen by the previous contractor.

“My only point here is that it is preposterous and malicious and completely false for the DFA or
anyone else to say that Oberthur ran away with the data because they could not run away with
it,” he said.

The whole issue sparked when the DFA required holders of “older” or non-electronic passports
for renewal to submit their birth certificates because it had allegedly lost the data to a previous
contractor. /je

READ: Passport maker ‘took all data’ when contract terminated, reveals DFA chief

READ NEXT

Trump urged to reopen government for a few weeks

Don't miss out on the latest news and information.

ADVERTISEMENT

Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles,
share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social
media. Call 896 6000.

FROM AROUND THE WEB

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

LOOK: Sunshine Cruz defends daughter’s party outfit

Jesus Falcis to Kris Aquino: ‘Stop bullying our family’

LOOK: Robin Padilla as former PNP chief Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa in biopic

Recommended by

TAGS: data breach, DFA, latest news, Locsin, news, Passport, passport data breach, Philippine
News, Yasay

For feedback, complaints, or inquiries, contact us.

ADVERTISEMENT

LATEST STORIESMOST READ

NEWSINFO

Grab driver nabbed in Mandaluyong buy-bust

JANUARY 14, 2019 03:05 PM

NEWSINFO

Man nabbed in Indonesia for allegedly slaughtering, cooking hornbill

JANUARY 14, 2019 03:01 PM

NEWSINFO

Chinese firms to take over Hanjin Philippines? It’s all rumor – Palace

JANUARY 14, 2019 02:59 PM

NEWSINFO

Political differences hound cousins beyond grave

JANUARY 14, 2019 02:58 PM

NEWSINFO

Singapore Airlines warns of phishing scam promising free plane tickets

JANUARY 14, 2019 02:54 PM

ADVERTISEMENT

FROM AROUND THE WEB

LOOK: Jodi Sta. Maria enrolled in college for final…

Twice the fun: Mavy and Cassy Legaspi throw star-studded…

Recommended by

INQUIRER ON YOUTUBE

UP, PUP students being forced to join NPA, says ex-rebels

Thirdy Ravena's UAAP Season 77 stats

Thirdy Ravena's UAAP Season 78 stats

Thirdy Ravena's UAAP Season 79 stats

Thirdy Ravena's UAAP Season 80 stats

Pacquiao takes another swipe at Mayweather over exhibition match KO

Pacquiao 100% ready for Broner fight

Despite decorated career, June Mar Fajardo is not yet done: ‘I don’t want to be stagnant’

‘Wala nang atrasan’: Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge’s 30-month closure to start Jan. 19

Sotto wary of ‘monkey wrench’ on road board abolition

Players, coaches hype up new season with PBA Media Day

Sotto says 1 month delay in release of pay hike for gov’t workers is OK

Deguito to appeal court decision convicting her of money laundering

Disclaimer: Comments do not represent the views of INQUIRER.net. We reserve the right to
exclude comments which are inconsistent with our editorial standards. FULL DISCLAIMER

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

 THE INQUIRER CHANNELS

o News

o Sports

o Entertainment

o Lifestyle

o Technology

o Business

o Opinion

o Global Nation

 SERVICES

o Sitemap

o Mobile

o RSS

o Email Us

o Archive

o Contact Us

o News Letter

o Job Openings

 THE INQUIRER COMPANY

o About INQUIRER.net

o About the INQUIRER

o User Agreement

o Link Policy

o Privacy Policy

o Article Index

 PARTNERS

o Libre

o Hinge Inquirer

o Bandera

o Cebu Daily News

 o DZIQ990 AM

o Motion Cars

© Copyright 1997-2019 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing, you are
agreeing to our use of cookies. To find out more, please click this link.

I Agree

Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1072740/yasay-no-data-stolen-locsin-misinformed-

about-passport-data-breach#ixzz5cZ29tG38
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook