Mayreen V.

Amazona RA 8792

Republic Act 8792 - E-Commerce Law of the Philippines

SUMMARY

Republic Act 8792, or the Electronic Commerce Law was enacted last June 14, 2000. Efforts for its passage started as early as 1992 with the Electronic Evidence Act. The law defines Philippines policy on electronic transactions to enable the countrys players and consumers to actively participate in electronic trade.

The law provides: 1. Legal recognition of electronic documents, electronic data messages, and electronic signatures; 2. Guidelines for retention and storage of documents in electronic form; 3. Recognition and validity of electronic contracts; 4. Guidelines for use of transport documents in carriage of goods; 5. A 2-year mandate for government to have the capability to transact its business electronically; 6. The directive for the Department of Trade and Industry to function as the countrys e-commerce authority; 7. The penalties to crimes such as hacking, cracking, and piracy offenses; 8. Made banking transactions done through ATM switching networks absolute once consummated; 9. Parties are given the right to choose the type and level of security methods that suit their needs; 10. Mandates RPWeb, a strategy that intends to connect all government offices to the Internet and provide universal access to the general public, to be implemented; 11. Made cable, broadcast, and wireless physical infrastructure within the activity of

telecommunications; 12. Provided guidelines as to when a service provider can be liable; 13. All existing laws such as the Consumer Act of the Philippines also applies to e-commerce transactions.

REACTION

From the context of the Republic Act 8792 or the Electronic Commerce Act, I can say that, one of the objectives of RA 8792 is to promote the universal use of electronic transaction in the government and general public. E-government refers to the use by government agencies of information and communication technologies (ICT) that have ability to transform relations with citizens, businesses, government employees and other arms of the government in the delivery of services. Examples are

Mayreen V. Amazona RA 8792 information kiosks, SMS services, e-procurement system and the like. Basically, e-business aims to enhance the delivery of services to the people and business entities by promoting transparency and efficiency in every transaction.

I have visited various government websites to verify the implementation RA 8792 in the country. Among the websites visited were Department of Foreign Affairs, POEA, DBM, DTI, NSO,GSIS, BSP, COA and BIR. The sites are regularly updated, have search features, sitemap, application guidelines, procedures and application forms and requirements are available, interactive, up-to-date information and downloadable issuances. Contain databases that present a wide array of data.

From my observation, most of the government websites are geared towards news and current events, job postings, feedback forms, and multimedia elements. The websites lack commonality or uniformity since they are created based on the initiative of each agency concerned rather than a central authority that handles government websites. Furthermore, agencies with frontline services such as NSO and GSIS still have no online application and payment facilities. Furthermore, relevant economic data are limited. Another limitation of the websites is the lack of historical data on issuances and statistics. Lastly, updated financial reports are not available on each government website.

From RA 8792, I can say that following recommendations useful in achieving an effective egovernment country.

People

The bureaucratic culture of the government hinders the development in public service. Civil servants should be provided with adequate training, workshops and incentives in order to be motivated in contributing to the implementation of RA 8792.

The government should equip the employees with skills and knowledge in ICT in order for them to appreciate the benefits of the project. Moreover, the unwillingness to adapt change and lack of interest in the project are factors that contribute in the failure of full implementation of RA 8792. These attitudes may still be corrected if incentives are performance-based. With performance-based incentives, the employees will be motivated in contributing to the attainment of Government goals. Furthermore, demerits should also be implemented to discourage the non-cooperation of employees to government projects.

Mayreen V. Amazona RA 8792 Resources

The initial stage of E-business is costly to implement. To reduce cost, outsourcing can be an option for the government. Government projects are attractive to private investors since these satisfy basic services needed by the public, hence, this will give the private investors an assurance in the income. In such case, the private investor will be willing to assume some financial risks related to the project.

Governments Frontline Services E-business initiatives should start with the governments frontline services such as renewal of licenses, passport application, birth and marriage, NBI certificates application. In this prioritization, the government will be able to reduce cost associated with such services and satisfy immediately the need of the public of efficient government services.

Public awareness campaign

Promotions through different media should be made to make the public aware of the various government services available online. With this information campaign, public awareness will be raised. Hence, this will increase the demand of online government services, thus, reducing the costs on both the public and government. Lastly through public awareness campaign, the public will be able to recognize the efforts of the government in improving public service. Through limitation if not total elimination of red tape and corruption, transparency, efficiency and convenience.

E-government is a means to overcome limitations of time, resources and accessibility, hence, the public has better access to government services. E-government also contribute to make the public more informed on the services of government that they can avail. As such, government tend to be more accountable on their services.