E-Commerce Act: Looking forward
July 27, 2001 | 12:00am
The Philippines marked the first anniversary of the signing of its e-commerce law last week with hopes that businesses done over the Internet would finally take off in this part of the world.
The Philippine Internet Commerce Society (PICS), a four-year-old organization composed of e-commerce enthusiasts, celebrated the enactment of Republic Act 8792, otherwise known as the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000, by honoring legislators responsible for its crafting.
Among the PICS’ honorees were Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., considered the father of the law, and former congressman now Catanduanes Gov. Leandro Verceles who served as steward of the measure while it was being debated upon in the House of Representatives.
Magsaysay acknowledged there are still many things to be done before the provisions of the e-commerce law are realized.
"It’s been a year now, yet one of the major provisions of the law which mandates the national government to do business online has yet to be realized," he said. "The government has two years to do it but I think with our present situation, it would be hard to do it before next July."
Former President Joseph Estrada signed RA 8792 on July 14 last year. He said he expected the law to usher a new era of doing business in the country. "We are living in what is known as a knowledge economy where survival is premised on access to the right information," he said then.
Ironically, among those that caused Estrada’s downfall were the text messages and e-mails against him which contained details of his alleged corruption and called for his ouster.
Just like a child, e-commerce in the Philippines is only in its infant stage, barely able to crawl, much less walk. PICS officials observed that this new way of conducting business still has a long way to go since it is hinged on the number of people who use the Internet and buy things through it.
"Internet penetration in the Philippines is still very low," said Ronald Jabal, marketing manager of 22ban.com and one of the organizers of the PICS celebration of the e-commerce law’s anniversary at the Peninsula Hotel in Makati.
"If people won’t use the Internet, then there is no e-commerce. We just have to promote the use of computers and the use of the Net," he said.
Before the passage of the law, experts were drumming up the growth of e-commerce all over the world. Analysts of the Gartner Group, for one, estimated that e-commerce among businesses would grow to about $7 trillion worldwide in the next four years, with the Asia-Pacific accounting for 14 percent of the market.
However, this enormous growth was never realized last year, thus many Internet companies, particularly in the United States, closed down due to lack of buyers.
The PICS, as a group, has recommended that the government and the private sector help each other in promoting e-commerce in the Philippines and help local Internet companies survive. Its first plan of action is to bring computers to the countryside where majority of 71 million Filipinos reside, so as to expand the base of possible Internet buyers.
The group also urged the government to be efficient in its work and be able to use its budget for projects that promote the use of new technologies.
Two other recommendations of PICS were the maximized use of online learning facilities and the creation of an environment that would encourage Filipino entrepreneurs to go into e-commerce.
"We believe that in spite of the passage of the e-commerce law, there is still a lot of work to be done. We recognize the need to participate and help the government in its e-commerce initiatives," the group said in a statement.
It took the country’s lawmakers more than two years to come up with the e-commerce law. They did not find the writing of the provisions difficult since the law itself was patterned after the so-called model law of the United Nations. What took their time, obviously, was the fact that they never considered e-commerce a priority issue.
Until the Love Bug struck.
In May of last year, thousands of computers around the world ground to a halt after they were hit by the ILoveYou virus. Because of the gravity of the damage, authorities in the United States, particularly agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, worked round the clock to hunt for the culprit. They found a trail that led to the Philippines.
The incident put the country, its people and government under international spotlight. Suspects were rounded up but they weren’t charged because none of the existing laws covered their alleged offense which was committed in cyberspace.
A month after the Love Bug controversy, the country came up with the law that made computer hacking and the malicious unleashing of computer viruses in the Internet a crime punishable by imprisonment and millions of pesos in fines.
The e-commerce law, however, is more than just a measure that penalizes computer crimes. It also legalizes electronic signatures, allowing electronic contracts and electronic documents or those "inked" over the Internet to be recognized as evidence in court. This provision is critical to doing business since it gives people the confidence to transact business online.
Magsaysay said many Internet companies emerged as a result of the e-commerce law’s enactment. "They may not be as many as those in the United States but still their number is substantial considering that few Filipinos really use the Internet," he said.
One of the companies that was born at the height of the Internet boom in the US and thrived because of the e-commerce law is Divisoria.com. Put up by Ramon "Monching" Romano, in late-1999,
Divisoria.com is one of the few Philippine-based online shopping sites that thrived despite the downfall of similar sites in the US.
Romano, who calls himself "chief tindero" of his site, said that ironically, Divisoria.com is benefiting from the closure of numerous online shops in other countries. "Filipinos living in the US are my market," he said. "And I can say humbly that my site is growing, although not as fast as I envisioned it to grow."
He refused to reveal how much sales he generates each month, although he said they were "substantial" and "enough for the site to survive."
"It helps that my customers pay in dollars," he said with a grin.
Meanwhile, one of those responsible for the e-commerce law has decided to literally promote e-commerce in his home-province.
Leandro Verceles, a three-term congressman, made e-commerce one of his priorities when he was elected governor of Catanduanes last May.
He has put up a Catanduanes Internet Network (CATNET) which provides free Internet access to all, regardless of age. Last summer, CATNET trained thousands of Catanduanons on how to operate computers. "These people didn’t know what a mouse was before the training. But now it’s difficult to stop them from surfing the Internet," he said.
What Verceles actually wants is to sell Catanduanes to technology investors from other countries. He said the island, which is known for typhoons, is very similar to Bangalore in India before it became a haven for information technology and software development.
"Bangalore was just like Catanduanes. It was nothing but backwaters before IT came in. Now it is one of the most advanced places in the world," he said.
Through a campaign called "Webs and Waves," Verceles is calling the attention of foreign technology players looking for a place to locate their businesses. He said this is the best time to promote the island since the cost of doing business in First World countries is steadily rising.
"In Catanduanes, they can do business at very minimal cost," he said.
The Catanduanes government is busy laying down fiber optic cables that would serve Virac, the provincial capital. It is also constructing roads for speedy travel to and from the different towns. And it is training its people, especially those who grow abaca and cultivate tiger grass, on how to find buyers through the Internet.
"We are one of the top suppliers of abaca in the world," he said. "And our tiger grass is made into brooms that you often buy in Baguio."
Verceles said he expects e-commerce to improve the quality of life of his people and encourage those who have migrated to Manila to go back and discover their roots in the island.
"We have so much to offer as a province just as the Philippines has so much to offer as a country," he said. "It’s just a matter of showing these things to the world. And we can do that through the Internet, through e-commerce."
The Philippine Internet Commerce Society (PICS), a four-year-old organization composed of e-commerce enthusiasts, celebrated the enactment of Republic Act 8792, otherwise known as the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000, by honoring legislators responsible for its crafting.
Among the PICS’ honorees were Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., considered the father of the law, and former congressman now Catanduanes Gov. Leandro Verceles who served as steward of the measure while it was being debated upon in the House of Representatives.
Magsaysay acknowledged there are still many things to be done before the provisions of the e-commerce law are realized.
"It’s been a year now, yet one of the major provisions of the law which mandates the national government to do business online has yet to be realized," he said. "The government has two years to do it but I think with our present situation, it would be hard to do it before next July."
Former President Joseph Estrada signed RA 8792 on July 14 last year. He said he expected the law to usher a new era of doing business in the country. "We are living in what is known as a knowledge economy where survival is premised on access to the right information," he said then.
Ironically, among those that caused Estrada’s downfall were the text messages and e-mails against him which contained details of his alleged corruption and called for his ouster.
"Internet penetration in the Philippines is still very low," said Ronald Jabal, marketing manager of 22ban.com and one of the organizers of the PICS celebration of the e-commerce law’s anniversary at the Peninsula Hotel in Makati.
"If people won’t use the Internet, then there is no e-commerce. We just have to promote the use of computers and the use of the Net," he said.
Before the passage of the law, experts were drumming up the growth of e-commerce all over the world. Analysts of the Gartner Group, for one, estimated that e-commerce among businesses would grow to about $7 trillion worldwide in the next four years, with the Asia-Pacific accounting for 14 percent of the market.
However, this enormous growth was never realized last year, thus many Internet companies, particularly in the United States, closed down due to lack of buyers.
The PICS, as a group, has recommended that the government and the private sector help each other in promoting e-commerce in the Philippines and help local Internet companies survive. Its first plan of action is to bring computers to the countryside where majority of 71 million Filipinos reside, so as to expand the base of possible Internet buyers.
The group also urged the government to be efficient in its work and be able to use its budget for projects that promote the use of new technologies.
Two other recommendations of PICS were the maximized use of online learning facilities and the creation of an environment that would encourage Filipino entrepreneurs to go into e-commerce.
"We believe that in spite of the passage of the e-commerce law, there is still a lot of work to be done. We recognize the need to participate and help the government in its e-commerce initiatives," the group said in a statement.
Until the Love Bug struck.
In May of last year, thousands of computers around the world ground to a halt after they were hit by the ILoveYou virus. Because of the gravity of the damage, authorities in the United States, particularly agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, worked round the clock to hunt for the culprit. They found a trail that led to the Philippines.
The incident put the country, its people and government under international spotlight. Suspects were rounded up but they weren’t charged because none of the existing laws covered their alleged offense which was committed in cyberspace.
A month after the Love Bug controversy, the country came up with the law that made computer hacking and the malicious unleashing of computer viruses in the Internet a crime punishable by imprisonment and millions of pesos in fines.
The e-commerce law, however, is more than just a measure that penalizes computer crimes. It also legalizes electronic signatures, allowing electronic contracts and electronic documents or those "inked" over the Internet to be recognized as evidence in court. This provision is critical to doing business since it gives people the confidence to transact business online.
Magsaysay said many Internet companies emerged as a result of the e-commerce law’s enactment. "They may not be as many as those in the United States but still their number is substantial considering that few Filipinos really use the Internet," he said.
One of the companies that was born at the height of the Internet boom in the US and thrived because of the e-commerce law is Divisoria.com. Put up by Ramon "Monching" Romano, in late-1999,
Divisoria.com is one of the few Philippine-based online shopping sites that thrived despite the downfall of similar sites in the US.
Romano, who calls himself "chief tindero" of his site, said that ironically, Divisoria.com is benefiting from the closure of numerous online shops in other countries. "Filipinos living in the US are my market," he said. "And I can say humbly that my site is growing, although not as fast as I envisioned it to grow."
He refused to reveal how much sales he generates each month, although he said they were "substantial" and "enough for the site to survive."
"It helps that my customers pay in dollars," he said with a grin.
Leandro Verceles, a three-term congressman, made e-commerce one of his priorities when he was elected governor of Catanduanes last May.
He has put up a Catanduanes Internet Network (CATNET) which provides free Internet access to all, regardless of age. Last summer, CATNET trained thousands of Catanduanons on how to operate computers. "These people didn’t know what a mouse was before the training. But now it’s difficult to stop them from surfing the Internet," he said.
What Verceles actually wants is to sell Catanduanes to technology investors from other countries. He said the island, which is known for typhoons, is very similar to Bangalore in India before it became a haven for information technology and software development.
"Bangalore was just like Catanduanes. It was nothing but backwaters before IT came in. Now it is one of the most advanced places in the world," he said.
Through a campaign called "Webs and Waves," Verceles is calling the attention of foreign technology players looking for a place to locate their businesses. He said this is the best time to promote the island since the cost of doing business in First World countries is steadily rising.
"In Catanduanes, they can do business at very minimal cost," he said.
The Catanduanes government is busy laying down fiber optic cables that would serve Virac, the provincial capital. It is also constructing roads for speedy travel to and from the different towns. And it is training its people, especially those who grow abaca and cultivate tiger grass, on how to find buyers through the Internet.
"We are one of the top suppliers of abaca in the world," he said. "And our tiger grass is made into brooms that you often buy in Baguio."
Verceles said he expects e-commerce to improve the quality of life of his people and encourage those who have migrated to Manila to go back and discover their roots in the island.
"We have so much to offer as a province just as the Philippines has so much to offer as a country," he said. "It’s just a matter of showing these things to the world. And we can do that through the Internet, through e-commerce."
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