Ople vs Torres

G.R. No. 127685.  July 23, 1998

Sarah Jane U. Usop

Facts: Petitioner Ople prays that the Court invalidate Administrative Order No. 308 entitled
“Adoption of a National Computerized Identification Reference System” on two important
constitutional grounds, viz: one, it is a usurpation of the power of Congress to legislate, and
two, it impermissibly intrudes on our citizenry’s protected zone of privacy.

Issue: Whether or not AO No. 308 is violative of the right to privacy

Held: Yes.

The court prescinds from the premise that the right to privacy is a fundamental right
guaranteed by the Constitution, hence, it is the burden of government to show that A.O. No.
308 is justified by some compelling state interest and that it is narrowly drawn.  A.O. No.
308 is predicated on two considerations:  (1)  the need to provide our citizens and
foreigners with the facility to conveniently transact business with basic service and social
security providers and other government instrumentalities and (2)  the need to reduce, if not
totally eradicate, fraudulent transactions and misrepresentations by persons seeking basic
services.  It is debatable whether these interests are compelling enough to warrant the
issuance of A.O. No. 308.  But what is not arguable is the broadness, the vagueness, the
overbreadth of A.O. No. 308 which if implemented will put our people’s right to privacy in
clear and present danger.

The potential for misuse of the data to be gathered under A.O. No. 308 cannot be
underplayed as the dissenters do.  Pursuant to said administrative order, an individual must
present his PRN everytime he deals with a government agency to avail of basic services
and security. His transactions with the government agency will necessarily be recorded–
whether it be in the computer or in the documentary file of the agency.  The individual’s file
may include his transactions for loan availments, income tax returns, statement of assets
and liabilities, reimbursements for medication, hospitalization, etc.  The more frequent the
use of the PRN, the better the chance of building a huge and formidable information base
through the electronic linkage of the files. The data may be gathered for gainful and useful
government purposes; but the existence of this vast reservoir of personal information
constitutes a covert invitation to misuse, a temptation that may be too great for some of our
authorities to resist.

The right to privacy is one of the most threatened rights of man living in a mass
society.  The threats emanate from various sources– governments, journalists, employers,
social scientists, etc. In the case at bar, the threat comes from the executive branch of
government which by issuing A.O. No. 308 pressures the people to surrender their privacy
by giving information about themselves on the pretext that it will facilitate delivery of basic
services.  Given the record-keeping power of the computer, only the indifferent will fail to
perceive the danger that A.O. No. 308 gives the government the power to compile a
devastating dossier against unsuspecting citizens.