Philippines

From eSignatureLegalWiki.org

Philippines
Legislation:	Electronic Commerce Act
Status:	Enacted
Year Enacted:	2000
Require Smart Cards:	No
Require Time-Stamping:	No
Excluded Documents:	None
Case Law:	None

Contents 1 History 2 Overview 3 Legislation Definitions & Excerpts 3.1 Electronic Signature Definitions 3.2 Requirements Pertaining to Electronic Signatures 3.3 Excluded Documents 4 Case Law 5 References

History

In 2000, the Philippines adopted the Electronic Commerce Act.

Overview

The Philippines Their approach is unique from a legal perspective and the mechanism required appears more consistent with some form of the website-based transition where by technical means a party cannot proceed with a transaction without having entered a password and clicked a button to continue.

Legislation Definitions & Excerpts

Electronic Signature Definitions

"Electronic signature" refers to any distinctive mark, characteristic and/or sound in electronic form, representing the identity of a person and attached to or logically associated with the electronic data message or electronic document or any methodology or procedures employed or adopted by a person and executed or adopted by such person with the intention of authenticating or approving an electronic data message or electronic document. "Electronic key" refers to a secret code, which secures and defends sensitive information that crosses over public channels into a form decipherable only by itself or with a matching electronic key. This term shall include, but not be limited to, keys produced by single key cryptosystems, public key cryptosystems or any other similar method or process, which may hereafter, be developed.

Requirements Pertaining to Electronic Signatures

Section 10. Writing. - Where the law requires a document to be in writing, or obliges the parties to conform to a writing, or provides consequences in the event information is not presented or retained in its original form, an electronic document or electronic data message will be sufficient if the latter:

• maintains its integrity and reliability; and
• can be authenticated so as to be usable for subsequent reference, in that:
  • It has remained complete and unaltered, apart from the addition of any endorsement and any authorized change, or any change which arises in the normal course of communication, storage and display; and
  • It is reliable in the light of the purpose for which it was generated and in the light of all relevant circumstances.

Section 11. Original - Where the law requires that a document be presented or retained in its original form, that requirement is met by an electronic document or electronic data message if:

• There exists a reliable assurance as to the integrity of the electronic document or electronic data message from the time when it was first generated in its final form and such integrity is shown by evidence aliunde (that is, evidence other than the electronic data message itself) or otherwise; and
• The electronic document or electronic data message is capable of being displayed to the person to whom it is to be presented.
• For the purposes of paragraph (a) above:
  • The criteria for assessing integrity shall be whether the information has remained complete and unaltered, apart from the addition of any endorsement and any change which arises in the normal course of communication, storage and display; and
  • The standard of reliability required shall be assessed in the light of the purpose for which the information was generated and in the light of all relevant circumstances.

Excluded Documents

Case Law

• Unknown

References

• [1]: Link to Philippines’s law (English).