The right to privacy is a constitutionally guaranteed right in the Philippines. The right to privacy is enshrined in multiple provisions in the Bill of Rights of the Philippine Constitution of 1987. Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution protects the right of the people against unreasonable searches and seizures. Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution protects against violation of privacy of communication and correspondence.
The Philippines has adopted generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land, by virtue of the doctrine of incorporation in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. The Philippines has ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is bound by international obligations to protect the right to privacy, guaranteed by Article 12 of the UDHR.
The Philippines passed the Data Privacy Act in 2012, as a modern law to address modern crimes and concerns specific to cyberspace. The Data Privacy Act protects the privacy of individuals and entities that process personal data, and ensures free flow of information to promote innovation and growth. The Data Privacy Act also established a National Privacy Commission for implementation of the law. The National Privacy Commission has rule making powers for effective implementation of the Data Privacy Act.
The Philippine Court System comprises the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and the Regional Trial Courts in descending order of hierarchy. The Supreme Court of the Philippines is the highest court of appeal in the Philippines. It was established by the Second Philippine Commission in 1901 by Act No. 136 which abolished the Real Audiencia de Manila, the predecessor to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court first explicitly recognised the constitutional right to privacy in Morfe v. Mutuc (22 SCRA 424). In another landmark case, Disini v. The Secretary of Justice (G.R. No. 203335) , the Court struck down S.12 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act, 2012 as unconstitutional. The said provision allowed investigative bodies to collect traffic data on specified communications in real time. In Ople v. Torres (293 SCRA 141), the Court held a national computerised identity reference system as unconstitutional due to its scope for potential misuse of data, thus protecting the right to privacy. The Court also issued the rule on the writ of Habeas Data (A.M. No. 08-1-16-SC) in 2008 as a remedy to persons whose right to privacy in life, liberty or security was threatened or violated.
Our database covers summaries of recent and landmark/key judgments from the Supreme Court of the Philippines on privacy from 1968 to 2021. To access these summaries, refer to our page here. We have also compiled a list of key laws which impact the right to privacy in the Philippines. To access our page on Philippines’ privacy laws, click [here].
Disclaimer: Our case summaries cover only the privacy aspects of each judgement. Other legal issues that may have arisen in these cases have not been summarised by us.
