Data Privacy Policy

This policy explains how personal information may be collected, used, stored, protected, and disclosed when you visit or use the official website of the City Government of Tabaco, including the Resolutions and Ordinances Portal and its document access and download features.

1. Information We May Collect

Depending on the online service used and the information actually requested by the relevant form, the City Government of Tabaco may collect and process the following categories of information:

• Personal information: Name, email address, age, sex, school or organization, and other information voluntarily submitted through the document access form, where these fields are requested.
• Location information: City or municipality voluntarily provided by a visitor, if requested by the access form. The portal does not determine precise GPS location unless such functionality is separately implemented and disclosed.
• Document activity: Records of document access and downloads, including the document requested and relevant transaction dates or times, where recorded by the system.
• Technical information: IP addresses, browser details, and server logs may be processed if collected by the website, hosting provider, or security tools.

2. Purpose of Collection and Processing

Information collected through the Resolutions and Ordinances Portal may be used, as applicable, for the following purposes:

• To facilitate access to ordinances, resolutions, and other published government documents.
• To maintain records of document access and downloads.
• To generate website usage statistics and reports.
• To understand general visitor demographics and voluntarily reported locations.
• To improve the accessibility, performance, security, and services of the document portal.
• To support government reporting, planning, and service improvement where appropriate and authorized.
• To respond to public inquiries and provide other official online services, where applicable.

Personal information shall not be used for purposes incompatible with those disclosed to visitors or otherwise permitted by law.

3. Collection and Use of Visitor Information and Website Statistics

3.1 Visitor Access and Download Records

When visitors access or download ordinances and resolutions through the portal, the system may record document access and download transactions, including the document requested and the relevant transaction date or time, depending on the system's actual functionality.

These records may be used to monitor portal usage, prepare statistical reports, and improve the availability and accessibility of public documents.

3.2 Public Display of Website Statistics

The homepage may display summarized statistics about the Resolutions and Ordinances Portal, including:

• Recorded visitor access transactions.
• Recorded ordinance and resolution downloads.
• The number of published ordinances and resolutions.
• General age-group distributions, where age information is collected.
• Voluntarily reported cities or municipalities, where location information is collected.

These statistics are intended to help the public understand the use of the document portal and the availability of government documents.

The public statistics dashboard is intended to display aggregated information rather than individual visitor records. Names, email addresses, and other direct personal identifiers shall not be displayed on the public dashboard.

Where necessary to reduce the risk of identifying individuals, small demographic groups or combinations of statistics should not be publicly displayed in identifiable form.

3.3 Interpretation of Visitor Statistics

Visitor counts may represent recorded access transactions rather than unique individuals. For example, one person may generate multiple access transactions.

Demographic and location statistics depend on the information available and voluntarily provided through the access form. Accordingly, these figures may not represent every visitor to the main LGU Tabaco website.

Published statistics may also depend on the portal's recording functionality, available records, and reporting period.

4. Lawful Processing and Data Sharing

Personal information shall be processed only for specified, legitimate purposes and on an applicable lawful basis under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and other applicable laws.

Personal information may be accessed by authorized personnel and relevant service providers only as necessary for legitimate government functions, website operation, security, maintenance, or other purposes permitted by law.

Information may also be disclosed when required or authorized by applicable laws, regulations, or lawful government processes. Appropriate safeguards should be applied to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or loss.

5. Data Protection and Security

The City Government of Tabaco shall implement reasonable and appropriate organizational, physical, and technical safeguards consistent with applicable requirements to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, loss, destruction, or misuse.

Access to personal information should be limited to authorized personnel and service providers with a legitimate need to access the information. No online system can guarantee absolute security.

6. Data Retention and Disposal

Personal information and transaction records shall be retained only for the period necessary to fulfill the declared purposes, comply with applicable legal and government records-management requirements, or establish, exercise, or defend legal claims, where applicable.

When retention is no longer necessary, records should be securely disposed of or anonymized in accordance with applicable law and approved government records-management policies.

7. Cookies and Similar Technologies

This website may use cookies or similar technologies where enabled by WordPress, its themes, plugins, hosting configuration, or embedded third-party services. Their actual use depends on the website's configuration.

Technical logs and cookies are not necessarily the same as document access records. Visitors should review the available privacy choices and relevant third-party notices where applicable.

8. Your Data Privacy Rights

Subject to the Data Privacy Act of 2012, its Implementing Rules and Regulations, and applicable conditions or exceptions, individuals may exercise rights concerning their personal information, including:

• The right to be informed about the processing of personal information.
• The right to access personal information, subject to applicable limitations.
• The right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
• The right to object to certain processing, where applicable.
• The right to request erasure or blocking where legally applicable.
• The right to data portability, where applicable under law.
• The right to lodge a complaint with the appropriate authority.
• The right to seek damages or other remedies where provided by law.

Requests shall be assessed and handled in accordance with applicable laws, verification procedures, and relevant legal exceptions.

9. Legal Basis

The collection and processing of personal information shall be undertaken in accordance with Republic Act No. 10173, otherwise known as the Data Privacy Act of 2012, its Implementing Rules and Regulations, and other applicable laws and regulations.

The appropriate lawful basis for each processing activity shall be determined by the City Government of Tabaco based on the actual purpose, nature, and circumstances of that activity. Consent should not be assumed to be the lawful basis for every government processing activity.

Any applicable Tabaco City ordinances, resolutions, or approved policies governing the relevant service should also be identified and referenced by the responsible office after verification.

10. Contact and Privacy Inquiries

11. Updates to This Policy

This policy may be reviewed and updated when website services, data collection methods, document portal features, data processing practices, or applicable legal requirements change. The latest version shall be published on this page.

Last reviewed: