By EMMIE V. ABADILLA
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is providing digital certificates to the public to speed up and secure online work transactions.
With the increasing adoption of work-from-home arrangements in both the public and private sector, the integrity of documents and information over digital networks need to be secured.
Digital certificates act as proof of an individual or a machine's electronic identity. It allows people to digitally sign and encrypt pending work documents.
For this reason, the DICT issued Department Circular 06 the guidelines for issuing the Philippine National Public Key Infrastructure’s (PNPKI) digital certificates for external clients - from government agencies, private entities and the general public during this pandemic crisis.
The PNPKI is part of DICT's core services, implementing security features to avoid data breaches, forgery and tampering.
The use of digital certificates is consistent with the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) Advisory No. 01 series of 2020 to adopt fast-track measures — including the use of electronic signatures — to ensure continuity of public services.
The Department Circular de¬tails the alternative mode of E-Filing of Applications for external clients that provides for online face-to-face verification instead of personal appearance of the applicant, among others.
The verification is done through free video call platforms such as Skype, Viber, WebEx and Zoom.
The Circular also provides guidelines for the use of the PNPKI Self-Service Portal for enrollment, installation, and downloading of duly approved PNPKI Digital Certificate.
Already, the DICT offered its Philippine National Public Key Infrastructure (PNPKI) digital certificates to the prosecutors and officers of the Department of Justice – National Prosecution Service (DOJ-NPS).
This is in response to DOJ’s issuance of general rules and procedures for electronic and online inquest proceeding (e-inquest) in the National Capital Region (NCR) during the whole duration of the public health emergency.