Joint Statement of the Department of Health (DOH) and the National Privacy

Commission (NPC) on the Processing and Disclosure of COVID-19 Patient Data

This joint statement is issued by the Department of Health and the National Privacy
Commission in response to concerns raised by various stakeholders on the processing
and disclosure of COVID-19 patient data, including those of COVID-19 suspect,
probable, or confirmed patients.

We uphold the Republic Act No. 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable
Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act and the Data Privacy Act of
2012 in processing COVID-19 patient data in pursuit of disease surveillance and
response.

As we call on all COVID-19 patients to truthfully and accurately disclose their personal
data to proper authorities to help fight this pandemic, the DOH guarantees that the data
privacy rights of these patients are protected. The DOH and NPC stand firm against
any form of unbridled public disclosure of patients’ personal data that has been proven
to cause a real risk of severe harm to patients.

We reiterate our appeal to all suspect, probable, and confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Your honesty and cooperation will allow our front liners to adopt appropriate measures
to protect themselves.

Rest assured that the DOH only discloses these data to public health authorities and
concerned health care providers for purposes of contact tracing and management of the
disease. These data may also be disclosed to other government entities authorized
based on DOH guidelines.

In these instances, public health authorities, concerned health care providers, and other
government entities who are custodians of patients’ personal data have the legal
obligation to protect the data privacy rights of these patients and ensure the
confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their personal data.

We also remind public health authorities, concerned health care providers, and other
government entities to ensure and protect the privacy of COVID-19 patient data and the
data privacy rights of the patients. This way, we can help allay the fears of patients on
COVID-related physical assaults, harassments, and discrimination, and encourage them
to report their symptoms, take confirmatory tests, and submit themselves to treatments
by proper authorities.

Fostering mutual trust and protection between patients and authorities is an

indispensable part of our fight to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.

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