The draft order is expected to be signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo within the first quarter, Maria Lourdes Yaptinchay, alternate chairperson of the trade department’s e-commerce team said during a recent public consultation.
Besides covering a certification scheme for digital signatures, the proposed order will also encourage e-government services in the country.
It is also intended to solve “the lack of security that has been perceived as the main barrier for growth of e-commerce and wide use of e-government services in the country."
The program will also establish a mechanism that will allow consumers and companies to accept electronic signatures as an equivalent signature of a person on a written document.
Once approved, the draft order will require concerned government agencies to comply within two years.
The South Korean government has provided a $2.3-million fund grant for the project, with the bulk of the funds allotted for hardware and training expenses, Yaptinchay said.
Korean experts have been sharing their knowledge and best-practices in the country’s digital signature project because it is pattered after a similar project in Korea.
Govt to undertake certification scheme for digital signatures
The government is also expected to take the lead in jumpstarting the program by implementing a national certification scheme for digital signatures in key government offices.
This strategy is expected to will spur the private sector to employ the technology and eventually take over in managing the certification program for the country.
The DTI will initially be designated as the Accreditation/Assessment Body, and will issue the implementing guidelines, as well as the criteria for the accreditation of the Root certification authority (CA), the Government CA, and the private CA.
The National Computer Center (NCC), which is under the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), is being eyed to serve as the Root CA and Government CA since it is the only agency deemed capable of handling such a task.
The Registration Authority (RAs), which are at the bottom of the hierarchy and the contact point for the consumers, will be represented by the government agencies that offer e-government services.
These agencies include the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Department of Budget and Management, the National Statistics Office, the Social Security System, the Government Service Insurance System, PhilHealth, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Bureau of Customs, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Commission on Elections, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The NCC, as the Root CA and Government CA, will be authorized to charge fees for the issuance of digital certificates. The government RAs, meanwhile, will also be allowed to charge fees for the services they will render to the public.
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Quelle/Source: GMA news, 04.03.2009
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