Safeguarding Citizens’ Data: Naga, FMA push for Rights-based Gov

This World Data Privacy Day, January 28, the City Government of Naga is partnering with civil society organization Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) to enhance the local government unit’s capacity to comply with data protection laws and to integrate data protection and information security measures into its day-to-day operations.

FMA is a Quezon City–based non-profit organization that assists citizens and communities in the strategic and appropriate use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) for democratization and popular empowerment. A critical component of its advocacy is the promotion of the fundamental right to privacy and data protection.

With a Memorandum of Agreement expected to be signed soon, the partnership will center on a two-day data protection training program designed specifically for LGU offices and personnel. This will be followed by a series of consultation and coordination activities involving the city government, FMA, and the latter’s pool of subject-matter experts and advisers.

Scheduled for February 2026, the training will provide participants with foundational knowledge on the right to privacy, as well as key data protection concepts and principles. It will also introduce the country’s Data Privacy Act of 2012 and relevant issuances of the National Privacy Commission.

By the end of the course, the city government is expected to develop a practical roadmap for strengthening its existing Privacy Program.

The collaboration is particularly timely for the City of Naga, which is currently at the forefront of domestic initiatives promoting the adoption of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to advance transparency, accountability, and good governance. The responsible use of such tools, after all, can only be ensured when guided by a rights-based framework.

For FMA, this partnership reinforces the crucial role it has continued to play in shaping the Philippine data protection policy landscape since the enactment of the Data Privacy Act. The organization was involved in the development of the law’s implementing rules and regulations and has previously provided basic privacy and data protection training to civil society organizations and academic institutions across the country.

Both institutions hope that this pilot implementation of FMA’s data privacy training program for local governments will pave the way for similar strategic partnerships with other LGUs that share their vision of good governance—one that not only serves the people, but also upholds their rights.