eSignature Legality in Philippines

E-Signature Legality Summary

This guide explains the electronic-signature framework in the Philippines, including the governing laws, legal effect, accepted signature methods, validity requirements, exclusions and practical business uses.

Applicable Laws

Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 (Republic Act No. 8792), as amended

Legal Status

Electronic records and signatures receive legal recognition in the Philippines under Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 (Republic Act No. 8792), as amended. The signing process must also satisfy every document-specific rule on identity, evidence, delivery, retention, witnessing, notarization, registration or filing.

Regulatory Authority

The competent regulators are the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Philippines.

Legal Recognition (Effect)

Under the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 (ECA), the ECA Implementing Rules and Regulations, the Supreme Court Rules on Electronic Evidence (REE), and DTI-DOST Joint Administrative Order No. 2 (JAO), electronic signatures are legally recognized in the Philippines.

• Electronic Signature According to Section 6 of the Electronic Commerce Act, legal effect, validity, or enforceability shall not be denied to any information solely on the ground that it is in the form of an electronic data message or is merely referred to therein.

Accepted Types of Electronic Signatures

Electronic signature types recognized in the Philippines include: ES, DS, SES

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.

• Digital Signature (DS):

Legal Requirements for Electronic Signatures

2) DS (digital signature) (REE)

3. SES (secure electronic signature) (JAO) Requirements: Unique, identifiable, control, tamper-evidence (JAO)

Limitations and Exceptions

• Contracts of partnership where real property or real rights are contributed must be in a public instrument (Article 1771 of the Civil Code). 2) Donation of real property (Article 749 of the Civil Code). 3) Power of attorney to an agent for the sale of land or any interest therein (Article 1874 of the Civil Code). 4) Assignment of rights, title or interest in a patent or invention, or an undivided share thereof (Section 105 of the Intellectual Property Code). 5) When registering securities, a registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission must be signed under oath by the issuer (Securities Regulation Code, Section 12.7). 6) Consent of the legal guardian for the marriage of a male under 20 or a female under 18 (Article 61 of the Civil Code). 7) Must be in a public document (Article 1358 of the Civil Code) (In practice, public documents are primarily paper-based).

a) Acts and contracts which have for their object the creation, transmission, modification or extinguishment of real rights over immovable property; b) The cession, repudiation or renunciation of hereditary rights, or of those of the conjugal partnership of gains; c) The power to administer property, or any other power which has for its object an act appearing or which should appear in a public document, or should prejudice a third person; d) The cession of actions or rights proceeding from an act appearing in a public document.

Industry Applications and Typical Use Cases

Contracts for the carriage of goods (Section 26 of the ECA).

Government transactions: for example, the issuance of permits, licenses, and approvals, and the acceptance of electronic payments (Section 27 of the ECA).