32 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY November 16 - 30 , 2017 RP News and More ...
Gov ’ t revokes Lopez ’ s license ; actress to pay P8,000 fine
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The government has decided to revoke the driver ’ s license of veteran actress Maria Isabel Lopez for breaching a lane designated for delegates of Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit last Nov . 11 .
The suspension was reported by Metro Manila Development Authority assistant general manager for planning Jose Arturo Garcia Jr . after the Land Transportation Office came up with the decision on Monday in connection with the case of the former beauty queen .
Garcia said the LTO also prohibited Lopez from applying and reacquiring a license for the next two years and ordered the actress to pay P8,000 for the three traffic violations she committed — Reckless Driving , Disregarding Traffic Signs and Anti Distracted Driving Act — when she breached the special lane on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue on the evening of Nov . 11 .
Lawyers from the MMDA Legal Division were the ones who recommended to the LTO that Lopez ’ s driver ’ s license be “ permanently revoked ,” as well as to bar her
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“ perpetually ” from either applying or obtaining a license .
In a letter submitted to LTO on Nov . 13 , MMDA lawyer Victor Pablo Trinidad said “( Lopez ) shameless conduct and unlawful act of breaching the security protocol during an international event in our country make her an ‘ improper person to operate a motor vehicle ’ which would endanger the public .”
“ We ’ re just the recommending party . Giving of penalties is not up to us , its with the LTO . We are satisfied with the decision ,” said Garcia .
“ At least there was a fair decision . Whatever the decision made , we leave it there and that ’ s fine for us because there was a due process ,” added MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago .
Pialago said the incident should serve as a warning and reminder to the public that the MMDA and other government agencies are working hard to do things for the benefit and welfare of the people .
“ Our chairman ( Danilo Lim ) is setting an example that we are serious doing our job . We want the people to know there should be no VIP .
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We will act according to the law ,” she said .
Metro Manila police director Oscar Albayalde commented that a person of her ( Lopez ) stature “ should be an example to the Filipino community but she did just the contrary . Any violations on the protocols and rules set forth by the ASEAN Task Forces shall not be tolerated .”
Lopez , who was crowned Binibining Pilipinas Universe in 1982 , posted on her social media account that after she did her wrongdoing , other motorists on EDSA also followed suit as she drove along the ASEAN lane .
“ I removed the divider cones ! Then all other motorists behind me followed ! MMDA thinks I ’ m official ASEAN delegate ! If you can ’ t beat them , join them !” Lopez wrote on her official Facebook account .
The incident went viral on social media and drew reactions and bad comments from netizens , prompting Lopez to offer a public apology .
“ Sorry to those who got hurt and affected ,” said the actress , adding that she is willing to face the consequences of her mistake , and said she
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hopes the other violators of the traffic rule will be punished as well .
L o - pez said “ My intention is simply not to breach the security because I was talking to an MMDA official . If there is an intention to breach security I wouldn ’ t have to talk to him . You will just go ahead and do what you want .”
Lopez said she was not the only one who went against the traffic rule . She claimed that during the traffic mess on Nov . 11 , she asked a traffic enforcer to allow her to drive in the ASEAN lane but the enforcer declined , saying her car had no sticker saying she could use it .
Lopez said she saw buses and taxis behind her that were already using the ASEAN lane .
She asked the traffic
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enforcer why the other bigger vehicles were allowed to drive in the special lane .
The enforcer , however , had turned his back on her and instead approached the other vehicles who had already breached the traffic rule .
Lopez said that seeing other vehicles using the ASEAN lane prompted her to drive on it as well .
The MMDA is also looking into lapses on the part of MMDA enforcers that triggered Lopez to breach the lane . ( J . E . Surbano , MS )
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Uber data breach affected PH ; officials may be liable
The National Privacy Commission ( NPC ) yesterday warned the local unit of Uber Technologies Inc . could face legal charges for concealing to the public that the data breach that occurred in the ride-sharing scheme ’ s system in 2016 affected its Philippine operations .
NPC said those responsible for not disclosing this information may face serious civil and criminal liabilities .
In a letter to NPC , Uber admitted personal information of Filipinos were exposed in the data breach , compromising information such as names and driver ’ s license data of around 600,000 drivers in the United States and some personal information of 57 million Uber users around the world .
Uber Technologies has received an offer from Japan ’ s SoftBank Group Corp . to purchase its shares for $ 48 billion .
The information also included the names of Uber
account holders as well as their email addresses and mobile phone numbers .
The NPC said the exposure of the Philippines to the incident gives it jurisdiction over how this has affected the Filipino citizens , according to Raymund Enriquez Liboro , the agency ’ s commissioner .
“ While Uber has repeatedly asserted there has been no evidence of fraud or misuse tied to the incident , the concealment of a data breach bears serious consequences under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 . If so qualified , those responsible for the concealment of the breach and for the exfiltration of the data may face serious civil and criminal liability ,” Liboro said in a statement .
Under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 , concealment of security breaches involving sensitive personal information is punishable by imprisonment of one year and six months to five years . A fine of not less than P500,000 but not more than P1 million shall also be imposed on persons who , after having knowledge of a security breach and of the obligation to notify the Commission pursuant to Section 20 ( f ), intentionally or by omission conceals the fact of such security breach .
Liboro said Uber failed to provide “ the level of detail that we expect from personal information controllers ” about data breach notifications , such as the actual number of Filipinos affected , and the scope of their exposure .
The NPC said Uber had informed the agency two individuals outside Uber inappropriately accessed user data stored on a third-party cloud-based service that Uber uses .
The two Uber employees who led the response to the data breach are no longer with Uber .
NPC quoted Uber as saying “ the incident did not breach Uber ’ s corporate systems ; there is no indication that trip location history , credit card numbers , bank
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account numbers , or dates of birth were downloaded . “
Liboro added Uber admitted Filipino data subjects were affected but there is no indication any Filipino driver ’ s licenses were downloaded .
Uber also assured NPC it has implemented security measures to restrict access to and strengthen controls on their cloud-based storage accounts .
“ Under the principle of accountability , we require personal information controllers within our jurisdiction to provide detailed information on the nature of the incident , the scope of the exposure , and the remedial measures taken .” Liboro said .
NPC is also cooperating with the data privacy authorities in Australia and in the US in pursuing the investigation .
“ We are not here to merely prosecute offenses against data privacy , but to work with all stakeholders to ensure that we keep moving
toward a safer data ecosystem where data flows freely and securely ,” Liboro said .
NPC appreciates the continued participation and cooperation of Uber in this investigation , he added .
On its own initiative , Uber has placed an information page available within the Accounts and Payment Options menu within the Help section of the Uber app . Filipino data subjects may avail of this feature .
Uber has yet to disclose the number of Uber users and drivers affected by data breach during the period .
Based on data released last August , the company has 66,000 active drivers and around one million active users in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu .
Uber started operations in the Philippines in 2015 . It has presence in 70 countries and 632 cities worldwide .( M . Iglesias )