The Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 is the country’s primary legislation on E-Commerce. Under Section 3, the E-Commerce Act aims to facilitate domestic and international dealings, transactions, arrangements, agreements, contracts and exchanges and storage of information through the utilization of electronic medium, mode, instrumentality and technology to recognize the authenticity and reliability of electronic data messages or electronic documents related to such activities and to promote the universal use of electronic transactions in the government and by the general public. It recognizes, and further validates electronic documents as equivalent to paper documents, and electronic signatures as equivalent to handwritten signatures.
The E-Commerce Act, Sec. 5(e) defines an “electronic signature” as “any distinctive mark, characteristic and/or sound in electronic form, representing the identity of an individual and attached to, or logically associated, with the electronic data message or electronic document or any methodology or procedures employed or adopted by an individual and executed or adopted by such person with the intention of authenticating or approving an electronic data message or electronic document”.