About the Legality of Electronic Signatures in the Philippines and How they Work
In recent years, the Philippines has started to grow at a quick pace because of its happy working population. That is why it has become more conducive to overseas and global opportunities. That and many other reasons have led to the necessity of the legality of electronic signatures in the Philippines.
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Legality Summary
As per the Philippine law, written signatures are not necessary to make a contract valid. Parties can have a verbal agreement, electronically, or in a paper document. The following need to be present in the contract:
- Consent of all parties in the contract.
- Object certain, which pertains to the contract’s subject matter.
- Cause of the establish obligations.
The Electronic Commerce Act (Republic Act No. 8792), together with the rules and regulations it implements, can specifically confirm that contracts cannot deny enforceability because they are electronically concluded. In order to prove a contract’s validity, sometimes parties have to show evidence in court. Leading solutions for transaction management can give electronic records that are admissible in evidence-based on A.M. No. 01-7-01-SC, or it is known as the Electronic Evidence rules, to provide support of the authenticity and existence and validity of contract acceptance.
How Can Electronic Signatures Become Valid in the Philippines?
Based on the E-Commerce Act, the electronic signatures only become valid if:
- The signature complies with the definition of electronic signature under this act.
- There needs to be a signing method that no particles with the interest in the electronic document can alter.
- The signing method should identify the bound party, and indicate the party’s access to the electronic document.
- The method used for signing is appropriate and reliable for how the electronic document was generated under any circumstance, including the involved agreement/
- The party must ask to be bound, so they can further proceed with the transaction, so they could have executed or given the electronic signature.
- The other authorized and enabled parties can verify the electronic signature and to decide how they can proceed with the transaction that is authenticated by electronic signature.
- Electronic signatures must meet the above requirements to make them enforceable and admissible. In addition, only an electronic document with a certificate-based digital signature that can be verified under a trusted third party is valid as equivalent to a “wet” signature.
The legality of electronic signatures in the Philippines is clear and not hard to comprehend, especially if the parties are all honest and law-abiding.
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