Republic of the Philippines Department of Science and Technology

Information and Communications Technology Office

September 5, 2013 Memorandum Circular No. 2013-________ Series of 2013

TO

Heads of Departments, Bureaus, Offices and Agencies of the National Government, Including Government Financial Institutions, Government-Owned And -Controlled Corporations, Inter-Agency Collaborations, Programs and Projects, State Universities and Colleges; and All Others Concerned Rules and Regulations on Migrating to the Government Web Hosting Service (GWHS) of the Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Technology Office (DOST-ICT Office)

SUBJECT :

===================================================================== 1. Background 1.1. The development of ICT infrastructure under Chapter 5, Accelerating Infrastructure Development, of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016 is being pursued to support e-government systems that will allow more effective exchange and processing of data across National Government Agencies and enhance the capability of the government to deliver services electronically directly to citizens. 1.2. Under Section 2 (b) of Executive Order (EO) No. 47 (s. 2011), the DOST-ICT Office is mandated to provide information and communications technology infrastructure, information systems and resources to support the speedy and efficient enforcement of rules and delivery of accessible public services to the people. 1.3. The government recognizes the need for greater security and robustness in the Internet technologies it uses as shown by the recent attacks on its websites at all levels of the government. 2. Purpose This Memorandum Circular is being issued to prescribe the rules and regulations on:

DOST-ICT Office Building, Carlos P. Garcia Avenue. U.P. Campus, Diliman, 1101 Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Tel. (632) 426-1526; (632) 426-1528 Trunkline No. (632) 920-0101 Fax No. (632) 426-1525 www.DOST-ICT Office.dost.gov.ph

2.1. Migrating to the web hosting service of the DOST-ICT Office 2.2. Delineate the responsibilities of Agencies covered by Administrative Order (AO) No. 39 (s. 2013) 2.3. Compliance to Technical Guidelines issued as part of this Memorandum Circular 2.4. Schedule and Order of Priority for Migration to GWHS 3. Coverage This Memorandum Circular is mandatory for the websites of: 3.1. National Government Agencies (NGAs); 3.2. Other instrumentalities under a National Government Agency's control; 3.3. Government Financial Institutions (GFIs); 3.4. Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations (GOCCs); 3.5. Inter-Agency Collaborations, Programs and Projects. This Memorandum Circular may optionally apply to the websites of: 1.1. Constitutional bodies; 1.2. Local Government Units (LGUs) and other instrumentalities under the LGUs' control; 1.3. Other autonomous branches of the government, including State Universities and Colleges. 2. Government Web Hosting Service 2.1. Services to be Offered 2.1.1. Web hosting The DOST-ICT Office shall establish, administer, operate and maintain the GWHS to ensure the government's internet presence 24-hours a day, 7-days a week (24/7) under all foreseeable conditions. The GWHS shall start operation within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of AO 39 (s. 2013). 2.1.2. Content Management Systems (CMS) 2.1.2.1. DOST-ICT Office shall provide free, customized Wordpress, Drupal and Joomla CMS and use these as the standard CMS for websites hosted under the GWHS.
DOST-ICT Office Building, Carlos P. Garcia Avenue. U.P. Campus, Diliman, 1101 Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Tel. (632) 426-1526; (632) 426-1528 Trunkline No. (632) 920-0101 Fax No. (632) 426-1525 www.DOST-ICT Office.dost.gov.ph

2.1.2.2. A CMS Technical Guideline shall be issued by the DOST-ICT Office for System Administrators and Web Developers. User Documentation shall also be issued by the DOST-ICT Office for webmasters. The technical guideline and the user documentation shall be attached as Annex ____ and _____, respectively, to this circular. 2.1.2.3. The customized CMS shall conform to the Government Website Template Design for government agencies, to be issued by Office of the President Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (OPPCDSPO). 2.1.2.4. Wordpress, Drupal, and Joomla are selected as industry-standard CMS with widespread deployment. The CMS are customized and security-checked by the DOST-ICT Office. 2.1.2.5. DOST-ICT Office shall provide training and instructional materials on the use of the CMS, which shall be posted on its inter-agency project website, i.gov.ph. 2.1.3. Security and Audit Assessment 2.1.3.1. All aspects of the website shall undergo security and audit assessment before being hosted under the GWHS. The security and audit assessment shall cover the CMS, web applications, plug-ins, web services, as well as any server or equipment that may be co-located by the agencies with the DOST-ICT Office. 2.1.3.2. The security and audit assessment findings shall be forwarded to the agency for appropriate remediation on the security and audit findings. 2.1.3.3. Once a website has passed the security and audit assessment, it may be hosted under the GWHS. 2.2. Migration procedure 2.2.1.1. The migration to GWHS shall be for hosting the websites of agencies covered in Section 3 of this Memorandum Circular. 2.2.1.2. Before migration, agencies shall fill up the Website Migration Survey issued by the DOST-ICT Office. The Website Migration Survey shall be used to determine the specifications and needs of each website migrating to the DOST-ICT Office's GWHS. 2.2.1.3. Agencies must meet the Technical Requirements for GWHS and the Security Requirements for GWHS, which shall be issued by the DOST-ICT Office and attached as Annexes ______ and ______ to this Memorandum Circular.
DOST-ICT Office Building, Carlos P. Garcia Avenue. U.P. Campus, Diliman, 1101 Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Tel. (632) 426-1526; (632) 426-1528 Trunkline No. (632) 920-0101 Fax No. (632) 426-1525 www.DOST-ICT Office.dost.gov.ph

2.2.1.4. Agencies shall use the CMS provided by the DOST-ICT Office for their websites. 2.2.1.5. The agency shall transfer its data into the CMS. The website shall then be transferred to the DOST-ICT Office, which shall store the website in its staging servers while undergoing security and audit checks. 2.2.1.6. Once the website has passed the security and audit checks, the website shall be published online. 2.2.1.7. The DOST-ICT Office requires the use of the CMS mentioned in Section 4.1.2 of this circular. However, agencies with special website needs and requirements not covered, provided, or addressed by the DOST-ICT Office's Wordpress, Drupal, or Joomla CMS may be allowed to use their custom-made CMS, upon approval by the DOST-ICT Office, subject to security and audit checks by the DOST-ICT Office. After the security and audit checks, these websites shall be hosted under the GWHS. 2.2.1.8. Agencies equipped with their own servers may co-locate their equipment with the DOST-ICT Office. The servers and other equipment shall also pass the security and audit checks. 2.2.1.9. Agencies may choose to maintain their own separate backup of their websites and data. The DOST-ICT Office, however, shall also maintain backups and shall implement redundancy features to ensure that the websites are secure and protected. 2.3. Migration for Regional Websites and Other Websites 2.3.1. Agencies covered by this Memorandum Circular with regional offices or attached agencies shall be given subdomains which are linked to the main or head office. 2.3.2. Existing regional agency or attached agency websites shall migrate to the subdomains provided. 2.3.3. Regional offices and attached agencies shall assign their own webmaster who shall be in charge of uploading and managing content for the subdomain. 2.3.4. Regional office and attached agency websites shall follow migration procedures under Section 4.2. 2.4. Use of Migration Fund The DOST-ICT Office shall set aside a Website Migration Fund to be sourced from the e-Gov Fund, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations, for use in assisting government agencies migrating their websites to the GWHS. The Website Migration Fund shall be used as a transitory fund for the transfer of websites into the GWHS only.
DOST-ICT Office Building, Carlos P. Garcia Avenue. U.P. Campus, Diliman, 1101 Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Tel. (632) 426-1526; (632) 426-1528 Trunkline No. (632) 920-0101 Fax No. (632) 426-1525 www.DOST-ICT Office.dost.gov.ph

2.4.1. An initial amount of ______ shall be made available from the e-Gov Fund for the Website Migration Fund. 2.4.2. Agencies with existing budget appropriations for the maintenance of their websites shall use their available funds, to be supplemented by the Website Migration Fund only as necessary. 2.4.3. Procedure for availing the funds 2.4.3.1. Only agencies availing of the DOST-ICT Office's GWHS services may apply for the funds. 2.4.3.2. The Website Migration Fund shall only be used as payment for services to be performed relative to migrating the website. 2.4.3.3. Agencies must submit their proposed migration plan with costing to the DOST-ICT Office for approval. The DOST-ICT Office may make recommendations in order to streamline the costs. 2.4.3.4. Upon approval, the DOST-ICT Office shall release the funds to the agencies that have applied for it. 2.4.3.5. Prioritization shall be based on the date of application for the funds. In allocating funds for the agencies, the type of website being migrated shall be taken into consideration. 2.4.3.5.1. Complex websites are those that have web-based applications and services. Agencies with complex websites may avail of up to _________. 2.4.3.5.2. Static websites are those that are primarily containing information about the agency, its mandate, services, and activities. Static websites may avail of up to ________. 2.5. Cost of Operation 2.5.1. The cost for operating the GWHS shall be included by DOST-ICT Office in its annual appropriations for the personnel services and its maintenance and other operating expenses. 2.5.2. The DOST-ICT Office may charge fees from its subscribers for the use of its facilities and services on a cost recovery basis to fund its variable expenses, in accordance with AO 31 (s. 2012). 3. Responsibilities of Agencies During Migration 3.1. DOST-ICT Office

DOST-ICT Office Building, Carlos P. Garcia Avenue. U.P. Campus, Diliman, 1101 Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Tel. (632) 426-1526; (632) 426-1528 Trunkline No. (632) 920-0101 Fax No. (632) 426-1525 www.DOST-ICT Office.dost.gov.ph

3.1.1. The DOST-ICT Office shall provide the technical assistance needed by OPPCDSPO to develop and implement policies, rules, and regulations related to the implementation of migration to GWHS. 3.1.2. The DOST-ICT Office shall provide technical and capacity building assistance to hosted government agencies. It shall develop the Capability Building Guidelines for GWHS-hosted agencies which shall be attached as Annex ____ to this Memorandum Circular. 3.1.3. The DOST-ICT Office shall encourage Constitutional Bodies, Local Government Units (LGUs), and other autonomous branches of the government to have their websites hosted at GWHS. But it shall be undertaken at the instance of the said entities. 3.1.4. The DOST-ICT Office shall be responsible for server administration and maintenance of the GWHS. Hosted agency websites shall be accessible to the webmasters of the respective agencies, but the management of the server, appliances and other equipment, as well as other maintenance procedures, shall be performed by the DOST-ICT Office. 3.1.5. The DOST-ICT Office shall be responsible for compiling and uploading instructional materials related to GWHS, including the Style Guide, CMS instructional materials, and other related documents. 3.1.6. The DOST-ICT Office shall be responsible for the security of the hosted websites. Any intrusion, defacement, unauthorized access, or any other form of illegal access into the hosted website shall be the responsibility of the DOST-ICT Office. 3.1.7. The DOST-ICT Office shall issue a Website Content Policy, attached as Annex _____ to this Memorandum Circular. The Website Content Policy shall govern the content of websites hosted under the GWHS, subject to issuances that may subsequently be made by other authorities or bodies under AO 39 and other relevant laws and issuances. Content refers to data, either in the form of text, images, presentations, audio or visual files or both, or any other information-bearing medium that may be accessed by site visitors. 3.2. Office of the President-Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office 3.2.1. The OP-PCDSPO shall be responsible for administering and implementing the Content Policy issued by the DOST-ICT Office. 3.2.2. The OP-PCDSPO shall be responsible for monitoring the content posted in GWHS-hosted websites. 3.3. Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) 3.3.1. The DILG shall advocate to LGUs the migration of their websites to GWHS.
DOST-ICT Office Building, Carlos P. Garcia Avenue. U.P. Campus, Diliman, 1101 Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Tel. (632) 426-1526; (632) 426-1528 Trunkline No. (632) 920-0101 Fax No. (632) 426-1525 www.DOST-ICT Office.dost.gov.ph

3.4. Other Government Agencies Covered by this Memorandum Circular Shall: 3.4.1. Make the content of their migrated websites compliant within one hundred eighty (180) days upon issuance of the UWCP. 3.4.2. Produce and regularly update the contents of their websites, subject to the Website Content Policy. 3.4.3. Develop their online services offered through their websites, subject to prevailing policies, rules and regulations of the government. 3.4.4. Implement the use of digital signature in compliance with EO 810 (s. 2009) in the online services of government agencies. 3.4.5. Employ a webmaster with a regular plantilla position and duly designated by the Head of Agency. 3.4.5.1. The webmaster referred to in AO 39 is the content manager for the website. 3.4.5.2. The webmaster shall consult issuances and guidelines on proper content management, including the Website Content Policy, Government Website Template Design, and other materials. 4. Issuance of Technical Guidelines and Compliance 4.1. The DOST-ICT Office may issue other technical guidelines relative to website migration and the GWHS. 4.2. Compliance with the technical guidelines issued for the GWHS is mandatory for all agencies covered by this Memorandum Circular. 5. Schedule and Order of Priority of Migration to the GWHS 5.1. All government agencies covered by this Memorandum Circular are mandated to completely migrate their websites to the GWHS within one (1) year from the effectivity of AO 30 (s. 2013). 5.2. Agencies with existing contractual rights with web hosting providers shall not renew their contracts and are required to notify the DOST-ICT Office about their circumstances. They must also refrain from entering into any new web hosting contracts. 5.2.1. Agencies currently in the process of procurement of services for website development and website hosting shall determine whether the Terms of Reference (TOR) governing the procurement prescribes liabilities for termination at the current stage of procurement. If no liabilities shall be incurred, the agency must terminate the contract. If liabilities may be incurred by terminating the procurement, if rights have already vested on the web hosting contractors, or if the contracts or obligations
DOST-ICT Office Building, Carlos P. Garcia Avenue. U.P. Campus, Diliman, 1101 Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Tel. (632) 426-1526; (632) 426-1528 Trunkline No. (632) 920-0101 Fax No. (632) 426-1525 www.DOST-ICT Office.dost.gov.ph

have already been perfected, the existing contracts and its corresponding rights and obligations shall be respected. 5.2.2. Agencies covered by existing contractual obligations with third party web hosting providers and agencies that have perfected their contracts in procurement have the option to undertake parallel web hosting. Under parallel web hosting, the agency's website shall be hosted by the third party contractor, with simultaneous migration of the agency website. Upon termination of the existing contract, the migrated copy of the website under the GWHS shall be hosted online. 5.2.3. Agencies that renew existing contractual obligations or enter into any new contracts relative to web hosting may be subject to disallowances from the Commission on Audit. 5.3. The DOST-ICT Office shall provide the order of priority of migration of existing websites of all covered agencies under this Circular. This shall be released online through its website, for the guidance of all agencies covered by this Circular. 5.4. Websites that have been defaced or rendered inaccessible by unauthorized parties within the last six (6) months of the issuance of AO 39 (s. 2013) shall be given priority. 6. Naming Convention The DOST-ICT Office shall issue the DNS naming convention to be followed by all government agencies. 7. Monitoring and Reportorial Requirements The implementation of AO 39 (s. 2013) shall be monitored by the DOST-ICT Office together with OP-PCDSPO and reported to the NDSCG every semester. The NDSCG shall submit to the President its annual report, or as often as may be required, in compliance to AO 39 (s. 2013) by government agencies. 8. Repealing Clause All Memorandum Circulars, rules and regulations or parts thereof issued by the Commission on ICT (forerunner of ICT Office) and the National Computer Center (made part of ICT Office) which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Memorandum Circular are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly. 9. Separability Clause If any provision of this Memorandum Circular is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions unaffected shall remain valid and subsisting.

DOST-ICT Office Building, Carlos P. Garcia Avenue. U.P. Campus, Diliman, 1101 Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Tel. (632) 426-1526; (632) 426-1528 Trunkline No. (632) 920-0101 Fax No. (632) 426-1525 www.DOST-ICT Office.dost.gov.ph

10. Effectivity This Memorandum Circular shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

LOUIS NAPOLEON C. CASAMBRE Executive Director

DOST-ICT Office Building, Carlos P. Garcia Avenue. U.P. Campus, Diliman, 1101 Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Tel. (632) 426-1526; (632) 426-1528 Trunkline No. (632) 920-0101 Fax No. (632) 426-1525 www.DOST-ICT Office.dost.gov.ph