Section 53. Variation by Agreement. - Any provision of the Act may be varied by agreement between and among parties; Provided that such agreement involves only the generation, sending, receiving, storing or otherwise processing of an electronic data message or electronic document. Nothing shall authorize contracting parties to agree upon stipulations or covenants, which defeat the legal recognition, validity and admissibility of electronic data messages, electronic documents, or electronic signatures.
Section 54. Reciprocity. - All benefits, privileges, advantages or statutory rules established under this Act, including those involving practice of profession, shall be enjoyed only by parties whose country of origin grants the same benefits and privileges or advantages to Filipino citizens. Inasmuch as the Act merely contemplates the legal recognition of electronic forms of documents and signatures and does not amend any law governing the underlying substantive validity of acts or transactions, this provision shall be subject to existing Constitutional and statutory restrictions relative to activities which are reserved to Philippine citizens or juridical entities partially or wholly-owned by Philippine citizens.
Section 55. Oversight Committee. - There shall be a Congressional Oversight Committee composed of the Committees on Trade and Industry/Commerce, Science and Technology, Finance and Appropriations of both the Senate and House of Representatives, which shall meet at least every quarter of the first two years and every semester for the third year after the approval of this Act to oversee its implementation. The DTI, DBM, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and other government agencies as may be determined by the Congressional Committee shall provide a quarterly performance report of their actions taken in the implementation of this Act for the first three (3) years.
Section 56. DTI's Continuing Authority to Implement the Act and Issue Implementing Rules. - Among others, the DTI is empowered to promulgate rules and regulations, as well as provide quality standards or issue certifications, as the case may be, and perform such other functions as may be necessary for the implementation of this Act in the area of electronic commerce.
Section 57. Separability. - If any provision in these Rules or application of such provision to any circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of these Rules shall not be affected thereby.
Section 58. Effectivity. - These Rules shall take effect fifteen (15) days from the complete publication thereof in a newspaper of general circulation.
Conclusion
The Philippines being active in the global market, being updated in the technological advancements such as the Internet, the government saw the need to protect its citizens from the dangers that the Internet, specifically E-Commerce, can bring. The Internet has been affecting the lives of Filipinos and has been becoming a part of the daily dealings of each Filipinos. With this, the government can not disregard such fact and pay attention to these advancements and must adapt to such reality, specially in terms of laws.
This is the reason why Senators Blas F. Ople, Juan Flavier, Ramon Magsaysay, Jr. and Vicente Sotto III introduced the passing of such law.
With the presence of the E-Commerce Act, businesses having E-Commerce as one of their profit generating strategy, same with the Filipino consumers, can be protected. there will be great control in every transactions they will make and thus securing each party. We can see that the Philippine government and the Philippines in general are coping up with the changes, especially regarding technological advancements, and updating the system by creating laws like such.
It is inevitable for the Philippines to compete globally, with this we should be open to such innovations like the E-Commerce. And to enable Filipinos to join in the market competition, protectiona nd security must be taken into consideration. With the E-Commerce Act this is made possible.
In relation to organizations, business establishments are afraid that the customers feel insecure in purchasing things online. This issue is one of the major problems facing the E-Commerce market here in the Philippines. With the emergence of the Act, companies now are able to face this situation with the help of the government. Also consumers are guaranteed that if they punch their credit card number on the online order form, they will not encounter fraud and other problems.
Another positive result of this Act, is the presence of provisions for violators and criminals on the Internet. Because of the law, violations and criminal acts on the Internet, like hacking and piracy,here in the Philippines will now minimized and criminals will be hesitant to commit crimes against the Internet since they are aware that laws and provisions against such acts are now present in the constitution.
