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On March 2006, the E-Commerce Team (ECT) was created through the virtue of DTI Department Order No. 12, Series of 2006. Since then, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through ECT has made significant step in offering an environment which enables the development and promotion of e-commerce. And with the DTI Department Order No. 09-21, Series of 2009, ECT was reconstituted on April, 2009.

ECT is made up of DTI and attached agencies representatives and is chaired by Thomas G. Aquino, Senior Undersecretary. ECT recognizes that being in partner with other agencies from the government and private sector is vital in its work on e- commerce. Addressing persistent issues like online transaction security, online businesses’ reliability and trustworthiness, and enabling government services’ electronic payment is the primary agenda of ECT.

Together with the involvement of the partnership and support from other agency from the government as well as the private sector, ECT worked on a number of implementing guidelines. Inputs gathered through meetings and public hearings were taken into the account in the guidelines that the Team has worked. With ECT’s advocacy and support, they have issued the following guidelines:

1. DTI Department Administrative Order No. 08- “Prescribing Guidelines for the Protection of Personal Data in Information and Communications Systems in the Private Sector.” (July 21, 2006)

2. DTI-Department of Finance (DOF) Joint Department Administrative Order No. 02- “Guidelines Implementing RA 8792 on Electronic Payment and Collection System (EPCS) in Government” (October 25, 2006)

3. National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 05-06-2007- “Consumer Protection Guidelines” (June 8, 2007)

4. NTC MC No. 04-06-2007- “Data Log Retention of Telecommunications Traffic” (June 8, 2007)

5. DTI-Department of Health (DOH)-Department of Agriculture (DA) Joint Administrative Order No. 01- “Guidelines to Protect Consumers Transacting Online, Specifically on the Purchase of Goods and Services Covered by the Consumer Act” (20 October

To help ensure security and non-repudiation on the transaction with the government made through on line, the present administration mandates the government agencies and instrumentalities to require usage of digital signatures in their e- government services. The directive was issued last June, 15, 2009 through Executive Order No. 810 entitled “Institutionalizing the Certification Scheme for Digital Signatures and Directing the Application of Digital Signatures in E-Government Services,” signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Republic Act No. 8792 or Electronic Commerce Act (ECA) of 2000 mandates the lead role of DTI in e-commerce. This mandate and with the Team’s effort have made it more evident and justified to fill the need for a special unit in DTI which will fully work and focus on e-commerce specifically on the agency’s policy and implementation of the law for the country’s intensified use of e-commerce.

To manifest leadership by example, the DTI Secretary gave order to proactively implement within the Department e- commerce. As setting up of electronic payment facilities for the services that DTI provides like the Web Business Name Registration System (BNRS), the Standards and Conformance Portal of the Bureau of Product Standards (BPS), and others is of equal importance to the Team.

E-Commerce Office (ECO) in DTI, supervised by Senior Undersecretary Aquino, was institutionalized through the Department Order No. 09-16 issued on March 2009. It is the most recent member of the International Trade Group and is headed by the Alternate Chair of the ECT and head of the Secretariat, Maria Lourdes A. Yaptinchay.