MANILA, Philippines — In a bid to fast-track the delivery of public services amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will be providing support to the National Economic and Development Authority – Regional Development Council in Northern Mindanao (NEDA RDC-X) as the latter adopts the use of digital certificates.
In response to a letter from Governor Philip Tan, chairperson of NEDA-RDC-X, the Cybersecurity Bureau-Philippine National Public Key Infrastructure (PNPKI) team will be coordinating with a NEDA-RDC-X focal person for the immediate processing of the application for DICT’s PNPKI technology, DICT said Thursday in a release.
“The collaborative efforts of our fellow public servants towards improving the state of public health and welfare are sooner realized when enabled by ICT services,” DICT Secretary Gregorio Honasan II said. “It is our duty to tap ICT resources for more responsive governance.”
Honasan noted that the move supports Malacañang’s whole-of-government efforts and is in compliance with the measures issued by the Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
“Digital certificates serve as a form of authentication or proof of identity, allowing people to sign, save and email official e-documents securely, and therefore facilitating faster remote work transactions,” the DICT explained.
The DICT said the PNPKI, one of its core services, aims to encourage both the public and private sector to adopt the use of digital certificates. Public Key Infrastructure or PKI allows users of public networks like the internet to privately exchange data securely.
Interested applicants may refer to the “Guidelines for the Application and Issuance of PNPKI Digital Certificates during the COVID-19 Situation” through https://dict.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/
Applicants may contact the DICT Cybersecurity Bureau-PNPKI Team at info.pnpki@dict.gov.ph for related queries.
The DICT earlier allowed the use of video calls instead of personal appearance in the application process for digital certificates in response to the pandemic-induced enhanced community quarantine.