THE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) bagged two out of four major awards in the recently-concluded 2022 Privacy Awareness Week organized by the National Privacy Commission (NPC).

PAGCOR bested ten other nominees for the Privacy Management Program Award (Government Sector), while Data Privacy Officer Atty. Maria Concepcion Gloria-Rubio was named Data

Protection Officer of the Year during the awarding ceremony held at Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on May 26, 2022.

The state-run gaming firm’s Information Technology Department (ITD) Senior Manager II Ross Sherwin De Claro, meanwhile, was one of the finalists for the Privacy Advocate of the Year Award.

PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo, in her virtual address, noted that while the state-run gaming firm has always been a staunch partner of the government in nation building, it diligently strives hard to comply with all regulations and laws.

“The Data Privacy Act of 2012 is no exemption. We recognize the challenges and obligations to respect the fundamental human right to privacy of all our customers while ensuring free flow of information to promote innovation and growth,” she said.

Domingo furthered said that in line with its support to the Data Privacy Act, PAGCOR established its own Data Privacy Section under the Information Technology Department; designated

Compliance Officers for different departments and Casino Filipino branches nationwide; developed a Data Privacy Manual as basis of its data privacy governance; and created a Privacy

Management Program to align its resources.

“The pandemic did not stop us from building a culture of privacy within our organization. We were successful in implementing the Online Data Privacy Awareness Program for our officers and employees, recognizing them for their invaluable support in keeping safe our customers’ personal data and trust,” she added.

ITD Assistant Vice President II Hector Melencio, who received the award on behalf of PAGCOR, expressed his gratitude to the NPC for recognizing the corporation’s efforts in promoting data privacy.

“On behalf of our Chairman, Ms. Andrea Domingo, we would like to thank the NPC for giving this award to us in recognition for all our efforts on data privacy. We are also doing this in relation to Anti-Money Laundering,” he said.

Melencio also stated that PAGCOR will continue to ensure that data privacy will be well-implemented in the state-run gaming firm.

In her acceptance speech, Atty. Rubio lauded NPC’s efforts in promoting data privacy in the country.

“We are the only government agency with an actual data protection section, and we are so proud to be your partner in data privacy. Thank you so much for this honor,” she said.

Former NPC Commissioner Raymund Liboro, who received an Exemplary Leadership Award, also congratulated PAGCOR for bagging said awards.

Meanwhile, PAGCOR’s Data Privacy Office Section also conducted several activities relative to the observance of the 2022 Data Privacy Awareness Week.