DAVAO City is set to become an independent Registration Authority for the Philippine National Public Key Infrastructure (PNPKI), enabling the local government to directly approve, renew, and update digital signatures for its employees without relying on the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
Proponent Councilor Bonz Andre Militar, committee chair on information and technology, said the initiative came from the City Archives and Records Office (CARO) to speed up approvals and prevent delays in signing important documents.
At present, CARO only helps applicants file forms and verifies their identities; then, applications are endorsed to the DICT for approval, which can take time.
DICT refers to PNPKI as an infrastructure that secures communications among individuals and government agencies. In a way, the government delivery of services to citizens and businesses becomes safer, faster, and more efficient.
The PNPKI provides guarantees in every signed document, namely, authentication, confidentiality, integrity, and non-repudiation.
The committee report noted that most heads of city offices already have digital signatures, which are especially useful for priority services such as permits and licenses, where signatories handle a large volume of documents.
The proposed measure grants authorization to the city mayor to sign and formalize the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the city government and the DICT.
“Once signed, Davao City will become the first local government unit in the country and only the second entity after the University of the Philippines system to achieve Registration Authority status,” he said.
Militar said under the current setup, LGU employees and local officials must apply through the DICT central or regional office to secure or renew their PNPKI digital signatures.
He added the existing process often experiences significant backlogs due to staffing constraints at the DICT, leaving approvals delayed for months and causing several accounts to expire.
“Once the Mayor signs the authorization, implementation will begin immediately. We will conduct orientations and training for employees, supported by an allocated budget for necessary infrastructure,” Militar told reporters in a sideline interview.
He noted that digital signatures are widely utilized across city government departments to streamline administrative workflows, allowing officials to securely sign batch documents with a single approval.
Once the local government operates as an authorized PNPKI registration entity, processing will happen immediately upon meeting basic requirements.
According to Militar, digital signatures under PNPKI feature built-in security measures and tamper-evident encryption, and any unauthorized modification to a signed document automatically invalidates the embedded signature.
Addressing security concerns raised during committee discussions, officials confirmed that no security breaches or data compromise incidents involving PNPKI digital signatures have occurred since the system’s initial deployment in Davao City.
The transition to full local administration is expected to significantly reduce approval timelines and enhance overall administrative efficiency across all Davao City government offices.
