Salceda: Ditch police, NBI clearances as requirement for employment

MANILA, Philippines — Data breach fears over the computer systems of law enforcement agencies have convinced a senior lawmaker that the country should do away with requiring police or National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearances for employment.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda cited the recent report of a data breach that exposed the personal data of some one million Filipinos “stored in an exposed and compromised database of the Philippine National Police (PNP).”

“Frankly, the PNP and other law enforcement agencies should not be in the business of storing the personal data of law-abiding citizens. And besides, that distracts from their law enforcement functions,” said Salceda.

The chair of the committee on ways and means of the House of Representatives said that instead of putting ordinary law-abiding citizens through the “hassle and expense of clearances, as well as the risk of data breach, why don’t we normalize due diligence among employers?”

“Otherwise, you have a system where no good deed goes unpunished. For following the law, you are hassled with having to prove it. That’s insane,” he said.

Salceda said these clearances can be abolished for most cases, to help minimize “personal data collection whenever we can.”

“You have under 100,000 crimes in the country every year. But 99.9 percent of the population has to get a clearance saying they do not have trouble with the law,” he said.

It “really makes no sense” to require jobseekers to submit clearances, aside from the costs that it entails “and it’s a waste of time for employers,” he added.