Could you summarize this?
The University of the Philippines (UP/we), which includes relevant UP System administration and Constituent University (CU) offices, will make use of fully automated means to process the personal information and sensitive personal information (personal data) contained in the application that your child/dependent/ward will submit through the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) portal (https://upcat2025online.up.edu.ph/) to determine whether or not he/she is eligible to enroll in UP as a first year student for an undergraduate course. We use such automated means as the sole basis in deciding thousands of UPCAT applications as well as any appeals made thereon that we receive in order to efficiently process the same, prevent human error or bias and enable us to treat applicants fairly.

Section 18 (c) of the Memo Circular 2023-04 of the National Privacy Commission states:

A PIC shall obtain the consent of the data subject when automated processing is the sole basis for a decision that produces legal effects on or may significantly affect the data subject.

Since we wish to comply with the Philippine Data Privacy Act (PDPA) and uphold you and your child/dependent/ward's data privacy rights, we therefore request you and your child/dependent/ward to carefully read and thereafter indicate your consent for us to process the personal data of your child/dependent/ward as well as your personal data, by submitting this certification and data privacy consent form through electronic means via the UPCAT portal should you wish your child/dependent/ward to proceed with his or her UPCAT application.

If you do not grant consent, or thereafter withdraw your consent, we regret that we will not be able to process the UPCAT application as well as any appeals thereon of your child/dependent/ward.

While we obtain your consent for such automated decision-making means, please note that our processing of your personal data in your application and any appeal thereon as well as supporting documents that you submit is ultimately based on UPs right to exercise academic freedom under the 1987 Constitution, our Charter R.A. 9500, other applicable laws such as the Education Act of 1982 and Philippine jurisprudence. The right to academic freedom includes the right of UP to determine who may be admitted to study in UP. You may wish to refer to the case of Garcia vs. Faculty Admissions Committee Loyola School of Theology G.R. No. L-40779 November 28, 1975 68 SCRA 277 (1975) cited in University of the Philippines vs. Arokiaswamy G.R. No. 134625. August 31, 1999 https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/36888 which states:

“Wide indeed is the sphere of autonomy granted to institutions of higher learning, for the constitutional grant of academic freedom, to quote again from Garcia v. Faculty Admission Committee, Loyola School of Theology, "is not to be construed in a niggardly manner or in a grudging fashion."

Academic freedom: “is a freedom granted to "institutions of higher learning" which is thus given "a wide sphere of authority certainly extending to the choice of students."

I certify that:

(1) all the information which my child/dependent/ward provided in support of his/her application, which includes appeals thereon, are true, complete and accurate.

(2) I read all information contained in the General Information Bulletin on First Year Admissions for Academic Year 2025-2026 and agree to abide by UP's rules, including those on admission, processing fees, tuition, scholarships and financial assistance programs.

(3) I read and understood the UP System Privacy Notice for First Year Admissions for Academic Year 2025-2026.

(4) I am aware that my child/dependent/ward's application shall be subject to – among others – Republic Act No. 10533 (or the K-12 Law), its implementing rules and regulations, and all relevant Department of Education issuances.

(5) I recognize that in signing this application form, I share with my child/dependent/ward the responsibility for the veracity and completeness of the information supplied.

I grant my consent to the University of the Philippines to process my personal data and that of my child/dependent/ward pursuant to Sec. 18 (c) of the National Privacy Commission Memorandum Circular 2023-04 listed below, including:

(1) my name;

(2) my citizenship;

(3) my civil status;

(4) my highest educational attainment;

(5) my occupation, employer, and annual income or annual pension;

(6) my signature;

(7) my child/dependent/ward's name;

(8) my child/dependent/ward's photograph with nameplate and signature;;

(9) my child/dependent/ward's signature;

(10) my child/dependent/ward's date and place of birth;

(11) my child/dependent/ward's citizenship;

(12) the information in my child/dependent/ward's Philippine passport or Bureau of Immigration identification certificate (if applicable);

(13) my child/dependent/ward's contact information;

(14) my child/dependent/ward's registered email address, and access credentials;

(15) my child/dependent/ward's educational records, information regarding my child/dependent/ward's education including his or her learner reference number (if any), and UPCAT scores;

(16) my child/dependent/ward's choice of UPCAT test center;

(17) my child/dependent/ward's choice of campuses and programs;

(18) whether my child/dependent/ward is a member of an indigenous people's group (i.e., indigenous cultural community), and the information contained in the certification issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples or the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos that he or she submitted;

(19) whether my child/dependent/ward has any physical disability or medical condition that will make it difficult for him or her to take a regular test, and the corresponding medical certificate;

(20) the citizenship, civil status, highest educational attainment, occupation, employer (including whether the applicant is a child of a UP faculty member or employee), gross annual income or pension of the father, mother or legal guardian (other than parents) of my child/dependent/ward and estimated gross annual income of my child/dependent/ward's household;

(21) the number of other household members and other relatives providing support for the upkeep of the household of my child/dependent/ward, and the respective contributions of such other persons, demographic and socio-economic information about my child/dependent/ward, my child/dependent/ward's parents or guardians, as well as our household and his or her answers to questions regarding whether s/he thinks s/he may need financial and other assistance in the event s/he is deemed eligible to enroll in UP; and

(22) information contained in the school ID or any valid government issued ID (GIID) card of my child/dependent/ward and my GIID (in the event I will be providing a copy of the same);

for processing the application of my child/dependent/ward to be admitted as a first year student for an undergraduate course in UP through fully automated decision-making means via the UPCAT portal including, but not limited to all other related purposes:

(a) verifying my identity;

(b) preventing fraud;

(c) documenting consent for the processing of my personal data for such UPCAT application and;

(d) contacting me regarding my child/dependent/ward's application;

(e) determining whether my child/dependent/ward is required to pay a processing fee;

I further agree that, if my child/dependent/ward was permitted by UP to submit a paper-based application that UP, through the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod unit that collected the paper-based application or UPCAT examiner will likewise provide my child/dependent/ward with the print out of his or her UPCAT test permit after he or she shows such unit personnel or the UPCAT examiner his or her valid school ID or GIID. As stated below, my child/dependent/ward and I understand that all UP personnel as well as any Pahinungod volunteer that processes our personal data are required to execute the proper non-disclosure undertaking in order to uphold our right to data privacy. I likewise understand and agree that UP through its duly authorized personnel is authorized to encode and double check my personal data and that of my child/dependent/ward for the purpose of enabling the University to process such application through fully automated decision-making means.

I further certify that I obtained consent from all third persons, whose personal data are provided in support of my child/ward/dependent's application, to allow UP to process such information as explained in the abovementioned privacy notice and in this certification and consent form, and agree to hold UP free and harmless from all liabilities in connection with the processing of the personal data of such third persons.

I understand that as stated in the abovementioned privacy notice for UPCAT that UP is authorized to process my personal data as well as that of my child/dependent/ward for other lawful purposes as provided under the PDPA and other applicable laws including research, processing for the purpose of exercising its right and responsibility of academic freedom, compliance with legal obligations and issuances of public authorities which may include disclosure of my personal data to such public authorities, for the purpose of establishing or defending legal claims and defenses, etc. and that therefore UP will continue to securely store my personal data for as long as necessary in order to fulfill such other legitimate purposes as allowed by the PDPA and other applicable laws.

I am aware that the processing of personal data for the UPCAT application and any appeal thereon of my child/dependent/ward carries risks that may involve the confidentiality, integrity and availability of personal data or the risk that processing will violate the privacy principles and rights of data subjects. I understand that UP has put in place reasonable physical (e.g. access control measures such as locks, security personnel etc.) organizational (e.g. only authorised personnel who have signed the required non-disclosure undertaking and need such personal data to perform their functions are allowed to process such personal data, privacy impact assessments etc) and technical measures (use of CDN, encryption, multifactor authentication, the conduct of vulnerability and penetration testing and other similar measures) to prevent or mitigate such risks as stated in the abovementioned privacy notice. I understand that such measures do not guarantee absolute protection against such risks as when systems are subject to targeted cyberattacks, malware, ransomware, computer viruses, etc. However, UP has also adopted measures in order to deal with security incidents or personal data breaches in compliance with the PDPA and NPC issuances (Part 7 Security Incident or Breach Response Procedures of the UP System Data Privacy Manual approved by the Board of Regents CERTIFIED TRUE COPY_DATA PRIVACY MANUAL 2023 EDITION.pdf (up.edu.ph) and the corresponding forms for security incident or data breach management UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION INCIDENT OR BREACH REPORT FORM.docx (up.edu.ph); PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT FORM FOR SECURITY INCIDENTS OR PERSONAL DATA BREACHES (up.edu.ph); Mandatory Notification to NPC.pdf (up.edu.ph); Mandatory Personal Data Breach Notification for Data Subjects.docx (up.edu.ph) and SECURITY INCIDENT OR PERSONAL DATA BREACH REPORT (up.edu.ph)).

I agree that I will help keep my and my child/dependent/ward's personal data secure by double checking that the email account he or she will be using for the UPCAT portal has not been compromised by using Have I Been Pwned, using a strong password for such account https://itdc.up.edu.ph/about/advisories/2023%2012%2004%20REMINDER%20-%20Use%20Strong%20Passwords%20for%20UP%20Mail%20Accounts.pdf, when possible activating two-factor authentication for the same, not using public, unsecured networks for submitting personal data or at least using VPN if he or she uses such unsecured networks and keeping his or her UPCAT portal account credentials confidential.

I have been made aware through the above privacy notice about my rights and that of my child/dependent/ward as data subjects to information, access, the right to object to the processing of our personal data, deletion, to lodge a complaint with the National Privacy Commission for the violation of our data privacy rights and the right to receive damages for such violations pursuant to a valid order of the proper public authority.

I also recognize that while I have the right to correct my personal data or that of my child/dependent/ward, it is my duty to keep my personal data, the personal data of my child/dependent/ward as well as that of relevant third parties updated, to see to it that my child/dependent/ward follows the instructions contained in the UPCAT site and portal regarding the manner by which correction or updating personal data may be done within the deadline set for the processing of applications as well as appeals.

I understand that if my child/dependent/ward submitted his or her application online, he or she may withdraw consent using the UPCAT portal. S/he must log in and click the drop-down box for his or her account (upper right-hand corner in between general information and log out). S/he must then click on withdraw consent which will automatically direct her or him to a page which will require her or him to provide the reason for withdrawal. My child/dependent/ward must check all the boxes containing the following statements:

I understand that this withdrawal will terminate my application as an incoming first-year student of the University of the Philippines for UPCAT 2025;

I understand that my access to the application portal of the University of the Philippines for UPCAT 2025 will be revoked;

I am aware that I will not be permitted to create a new application account for UPCAT 2025;

I understand that my University Predicted Grade (UPG) for UPCAT 2025 will not be computed; and

I acknowledge that this action cannot be reversed and is considered final.

so that UP can be assured that we (my child/dependent/ward and I) understand all the consequences for withdrawal then click withdraw.

I understand and agree that if my child/dependent/ward accomplishes such withdrawal online s/he certifies that s/he is withdrawing such consent with the express permission of her or his parent or guardian who granted consent for the processing of her or his personal data for the UPCAT application.

If my child/dependent/ward was allowed to submit a paper-based application I understand and agree that I must write a letter addressed to the UP Office of Admissions Kalaw cor. Quirino Ave., UP Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines or send an email to the following official email address: <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_EMAIL_ADDRESS> stating that I am withdrawing my child/dependent/ward's consent as well as his or her application and or appeal and indicate that we (my child/dependent/ward and I) understand that withdrawal will terminate his or her application (and or appeal) as an incoming first-year student of the University of the Philippines for UPCAT 2025; he or she will not be allowed to file a new application for UPCAT 2025; his or her University Predicted Grade (UPG) for UPCAT 2025 will not be computed; and withdrawal cannot be reversed and is considered final.

I also understand that such withdrawal of consent will apply only to the processing of my child/ward/dependent's UPCAT application or appeal and will not affect any other processing which UP has to perform in order to comply with its legal obligations including the exercise of its right to academic freedom for example to conduct investigations or disclose information required by public authorities etc or any such other processing allowed by the PDPA and other applicable laws.

I am aware that for any queries or suggestions regarding this certification and data privacy consent form or data privacy concerns regarding personal data processed via the UPCAT portal I may contact the UP System Data Protection Officer:

Via post
c/o Office of the President
2F North Wing Quezon Hall
(Admin Building) University Avenue,
UP Diliman, Quezon City 1101
Philippines

Through the following landlines
Phone | (632) 89280110; (632) 89818500 loc. 2521

Through email
<PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_EMAIL_ADDRESS>