PHILIPPINES Trends and Developments Contributed by: Clarence Darrow C Valdecantos and Gilyen Ezra Marie L Li-Nulud, ACCRALAW
lyse call recordings and e-mail exchanges between employees and customers to evaluate work perfor - mance was likewise deemed to be in furtherance of legitimate interests since it directly contributes to the employer’s goal of improving its services. These echo Privacy Policy Office Advisory Opinion No 2018-084 as regards the installation of monitoring software to record keystrokes and take random snapshots of the employee’s computer screen. However, the NPC opined that such measures should directly satisfy the purpose of monitoring. In all these cases, the NPC reminded employers to ensure that the processing of personal information complies with the general principles of data privacy: • transparency; • legitimate purpose; and • proportionality. First, it must be determined whether the collection of data is proportional to the goals of monitoring and whether it aligns clearly with the needs and objectives of the organisation. Therefore, the personal informa - tion of employees should only be processed through computer monitoring if the intended purpose cannot be achieved by any less intrusive means. In any event, employers are mandated to effectively communicate to the employees the purpose, scope, and actual method of monitoring, the security meas - ures undertaken to protect their personal information, and the procedure for redress if data privacy rights are breached. They should also issue policies or set guidelines on the use of company-issued devices and equipment, especially within the context of a remote work arrangement. Otherwise, they will have failed to comply with the obligations of a personal information controller under the DPA and may be held liable for administrative fines and penalties. Employment of Foreign Nationals and Digital Nomads The employment of foreign nationals by Philippine companies requires, among others, an Alien Employ - ment Permit (“AEP”) issued by DOLE as a prerequisite for a work visa granted by the Philippine government through the Bureau of Immigration. In this regard,
DOLE has released several iterations of the rules gov - erning the employment of foreign nationals, the latest of which is Department Order No 248, series of 2025 (“DO 248”), effective on 9 February 2025. Under DO 248, the application for and grant of an AEP are subject to the same legal requirements as in recent years, including the conduct of the Labor Mar - ket Test, which entails the publication of the vacant position and the name of foreign national sought to be hired, and the submission of documents that verify the latter’s qualifications for work in the Philippines (ie, contract of employment, tax forms indicating his Taxpayer Identification Number, affidavit from the employer stating that no Filipino applied or was found competent for the position, et al). In addition to these requirements, DO 248 now requires DOLE Regional Offices to assess the eco - nomic impact of employing foreign nationals in spe - cific sectors, professions, occupations, or industries through an Economic Needs Test (“ENT”) before an application for AEP is granted. The ENT specifically takes into account: • the shortage or surplus of Filipino workers in the sector in which the foreign national is intended to be employed; • the unavailability of specialised skills, expertise or knowledge inherent to the position of the foreign national in the local labour market and whether these can be met within a short period of time by training local workers; and • whether the employment of the foreign national is deemed essential for the development, com - petitiveness or technological advancement of the sector and serves national economic interests, particularly among employers granted fiscal incen - tives, engaged in priority investments, or operating public utilities under the law. DO 248 likewise requires employers to adopt an Understudy Training Program or Skills Development Program to ensure the effective transfer of skills, knowledge, and technology from foreign employ - ees to Filipino employees, and these programs must be submitted to the DOLE Regional Office together with the application for AEP. A progress evaluation or
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