PALACE APPOINTS FORMER DICT ASSISTANT SECRETARY AS NPC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Malacañang appoints former Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Assistant Secretary Atty. Ivin Ronald D.M. Alzona as the new Executive Director (ED) of the National Privacy Commission (NPC), effective April 2021.

In the oath-taking ceremony on April 8, Privacy Commissioner Raymund Liboro, welcomed Alzona and his team in confidence to what he described as a transitioning, advancing and innovating agency. “You came at a very opportune time; you came at the time that the NPC is in its prime development stage.” Liboro said.

From handling management and operations of the DICT since 2018, Alzona takes on a new challenge in managing the continuing digital transformation in data privacy regulatory practice. As former DICT Assistant Secretary he plans to incorporate some practices from his former agency in future-proofing data privacy policies and standards given the ever-evolving ways of technology. According to Alzona, he aims to “advocate for the convergence of policy and technology through the formulation of a data policy framework that recognizes enabling and convergent ICT technologies such as AI, Big Data, Blockchain and Internet of Things (IOT), ensuring that NPC’s responsive regulatory framework remains inclusive and dynamic.”

He also plans to “promote best practices in data protection amongst personal information controllers (PICs) and encourage them to heavily invest in their privacy programs as data breaches could prove even more costly or catastrophic in the long run.”

His experience as part of DICT’s top management will be a valuable contribution to the fairly young agency. He strongly believes in consensus-building in an organization explaining that “consensus-building not only builds trust; it also ensures efficiency, stability and synergy in problem-solving and decision-making.” Prior to his appointment to NPC, he served DICT under various capacities - as Assistant Secretary for Management and Operations, OIC-Undersecretary for Regional Operations and Countryside and ICT Industry Development, Assistant Secretary for Administration and Assistant Secretary for National Broadband Backbone and Free WiFi/Internet Access in Public Places.

The Privacy Commission is geared towards beefing-up its nation-building efforts as Executive Director Alzona emphasizes the significance of the Commission’s mandate in the growing Philippine economy. “While innovation is considered as the engine for our economic growth; and data is regarded by many as the new oil, I liken data privacy to a spark plug, without which we could not effectively ignite and jumpstart our country’s economic engine especially within the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution” he said.

Alzona intends to focus in creating a citizen-centric and techno-centric institution in the NPC. He reiterates that he will be “implementing a quality management system that capitalizes on NPC’s culture of action, culture of collaboration and culture of excellence as espoused by the Privacy Commissioner.”

Alzona obtained his law degree from San Beda University - Manila in 2010 and was subsequently admitted to the Philippine Bar the following year. He also holds a degree in business management and entrepreneurship with academic distinction from the same university.

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