The Last Mile of Digitalization

For a quarter of a century, the Philippines has had the legal foundation for a digital economy. What it lacked was a way past the notary.

The Electronic Commerce Act of 2000, despite its name, applies to both commercial and government transactions and expressly contemplated electronic notarization. Yet for years, there was a familiar refrain whenever government or business proposed taking a process fully online: “The document has to be notarized.”

That was often the end of the conversation.

A compliance officer could reasonably say that a notarized document had to be on paper, signed in ink and presented before a notary. An otherwise digital transaction would return to paper: print, sign, travel, notarize, scan or courier, then file the physical copy.

‍

More than an inconvenience, this became a structural excuse for not digitizing.

The Supreme Court PH has now removed that excuse.

In 2025, the Court issued its Rules on Electronic Notarization (the eNotary Rules). On August 5, it accredited three Electronic Notarization Facilities (ENFs), giving practical effect to a reform that has been 25 years in the making.

This is a monumental reform because it removes one of the last legal barriers to end-to-end digital transactions.

Notarization is not an obsolete formality. The notary verifies identity and ensures that the document is executed knowingly and voluntarily. But the legal effect goes further. Under our rules of evidence, notarization transforms a private document into a public one, making it admissible without further proof of authenticity. A notarized document enjoys legal presumptions of validity that may be overturned only by clear and convincing evidence.

That is why notarization has never been a mere stamp at the bottom of a page. It is a legal trust mechanism. And that is precisely why bringing it online is such an important reform.

The question was whether these safeguards could be delivered securely without paper. The Supreme Court has answered yes. The eNotary Rules establish safeguards for identity verification, authentication, liveness, geolocation, secure electronic records, data protection and tamper detection, among others.

For years, we have digitized the front end while preserving paper at the back end. A loan application can be online, but the mortgage may still need a wet signature. A government portal can still require the applicant to print and submit the document.

That is not digital transformation. It is a paper process with a website attached.

‍

eNotarization changes the equation. A document can now be created electronically, signed electronically, notarized electronically and—crucially—verified and used electronically.

The benefits go beyond convenience: fewer trips, lower costs, faster processing, better audit trails and greater access.

More importantly, it removes a familiar excuse for refusing to redesign a process.

Having worked in government for more than 15 years, and having been involved in the advocacy for digital signatures and electronic notarization for the past six years, I have come to realize that digitalization is ultimately about two things: socialization and leadership.

First, people need to understand that the law already permits more than they think. Many paper-based practices survive not because the law requires them, but because organizations have never revisited their assumptions about what the law allows.

Second, there must be buy-in from the very top.

This is particularly important in government and highly regulated industries. At the end of the day, leaders decide whether an organization will adopt a genuinely digital workflow or continue requiring paper “just to be safe.” Technology can make digitalization possible. But only leadership can make it happen at scale.

The Supreme Court has taken the first major step. The next one is critical.

Hundreds of lawyers interested in becoming among the country’s first eNotaries are already undergoing training conducted online by accredited ENFs. Just today, August 10, the Supreme Court opened its online portal for receiving applications for eNotarial Commissions. The Philippines is now on the verge of its first eNotarial act.

The Supreme Court should be lauded and supported. The legal framework exists; infrastructure is being built; lawyers are preparing to participate.

‍

Leaders from all organizations—government, businesses, non-profits—should now do their part. They should review rules and workflows that still assume a trustworthy document must be paper. They should build systems that verify electronic documents rather than demand physical copies. They should redesign their processes, not merely digitize forms.

‍

If an eNotarized document will still need to be printed for a government agency to accept it, we will not have completed digital transformation. We will have delayed it further.

Every couriered document or unnecessary trip to a government office is a cost. Every hour or day spent waiting is wasted precious time that cannot be recovered. Every paper-based step creates friction. And friction is particularly expensive in a country where time, distance and administrative capacity are unevenly distributed.

Digitalization is not simply about technology. It is about promoting ease of doing business, improving access to government services, and strengthening our country’s competitiveness.

Twenty-five years ago, the law anticipated a future of full, end-to-end digital processes. In 2025, the Supreme Court supplied the framework and rules to make it happen. In 2026, the first facilities are in place.

‍

The last mile is here. Now the rest of the country must walk it.

‍

*Third Bagro teaches Constitutional Law at the UP College of Law, serves as the US-ASEAN Business Council's Philippines Chief Representative, and a former Undersecretary at the Presidential Management Staff and the Department of Trade and Industry. He co-founded @Twala an e-Notary Facility accredited by the Supreme Court.

‍