Privacy commissioner: Up to DOJ, BuCor to confirm Jaybee Sebastian's death due to COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 3:20 p.m.) — Privacy Commissioner Raymund Liboro said it is up to the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Corrections to confirm the death of high-profile inmate Jaybee Sebastian due to COVID-19.

In an interview with radio dzBB on Monday, Liboro, chair of the National Privacy Commission, said the Data Privacy Act covers everyone, including inmates.

But confirming the death of a person due to the novel coronavirus will be up to discretion of government authority, he said.

“We have to leave it to the controller, in which case the Bureau of Corrections or DOJ as controller of this information,” Liboro explained in a mix of English and Filipino. He added that these government agencies have their own policies on upholding public interest.

In a statement, however, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the bureau should disclose the causes of deaths at the New Bilibid Prison, saying these are not covered by the Data Privacy Act.

"In fact, upon any person's death, there is a requirement to execute a death certificate which is a public document," Drilon said.

"Disclosing information about a prisoner’s death is not a protected information under the Data Privacy Law, " Drilon said.

"The fact that a person is dead is not contemplated by the law."

On Sunday, media reported that on deaths of nine high-profile inmates, including convicted kidnapper Sebastian, who is also accused of being a drug lord. According to media reports, the death certificate showed that Sebastian was 40 when he died of acute myocardial infarction, related to COVID-19 at the New Bilibid Prison Hospital last week.

His body was not autopsied and was cremated on Saturday.

BuCor Director General Gerard Bantag confirmed deaths among inmates due to COVID-19, but invoked the Data Privacy Act from confirming the identities of those who passed away.

Liboro said that the Data Privacy Act covers anyone, including inmates. But during this time of pandemic, Republic Act 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern may also cover this incident.

The privacy commissioner said journalists may invoke RA 11332 in confirming Sebastian’s death, but it will still be up to the controller of information whether to disclose the data.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Sunday said he summoned Bantag to his office on Monday to shed light on the matter.

Guevarra said they will discuss alleged deaths of high-profile inmates and protocols in place whenever death occurs in Bilibid. Asked if BuCor can invoke data privacy act in refusing to identify the inmates who died, Guevarra added: “We actually need not mention any names. We’re interested in what’s happening out there (or in there).”  — Kristine Joy Patag with reports from The STAR/Ghio Ong

Related Stories

Jaybee Sebastian: COVID-19 case or murder?