MALACAÑAN PALACE

MANILA
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. ___

MANDATING GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO USE THE GOVERNMENT-WIDE E-MAIL

(GOVMAIL) SYSTEM OF THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
OFFICE (ICT OFFICE) OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (DOST)

WHEREAS, Section 24, Article II of the 1987 Constitution provides that the State shall recognize the
vital role of communication and information in nation-building;

WHEREAS, Section 2(b) of Executive Order (EO) No. 47 (s. 2011) mandates the ICT Office, under the
DOST, to provide an efficient information and communications technology infrastructure, information
systems and resources to support an effective, transparent and accountable governance and, in
particular, support the speedy enforcement of rules and delivery of accessible public services to the
people;

WHEREAS, Republic Act (RA) No. 9485 or the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007 requires government
agencies to re-engineer their transaction systems and procedures to reduce bureaucratic red tape and
processing time;

WHEREAS, Section 2 of the Declaration of Policy of RA No. 8792 or the Electronic Commerce Act of
2000 provides that there is a need to create an information-friendly environment, which supports and
ensures the availability, diversity and affordability of ICT products and services;

WHEREAS, RA No. 8792 or the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 mandates government agencies to
create, file or retain their documents in the form of electronic data message or electronic message;

WHEREAS, Section 2 of RA No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 provides that the
State shall recognize the importance of providing an environment conducive to the development,
acceleration and rational application and exploitation of information and communications technology
(ICT) to attain free, easy and intelligible access to exchange and/or delivery of information; and the
need to protect and safeguard the integrity of computer, computer and communications systems,
networks and databases, and the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and data
stored therein, from all forms of misuse, abuse and illegal access by making punishable under the law
such conduct or conducts;

WHEREAS, the government recognizes the need to provide a secure e-mail system to government
agencies using unique agency names with .gov.ph suffix and using a central server and public key
infrastructure for added security;

WHEREAS, the government aims to minimize the use of free web-based e-mail services for official
government communications as well as to give government personnel a credible online identity,
especially when communicating with the public;

WHEREAS, the scope and application of Government-Wide E-mail (GovMail) System will cover all
communications and exchanges, whether internal or external, and within or outside the government.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BENIGNO S. AQUINO III, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the
powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. Establishment of the Government-wide E-mail (GovMail) System

The GovMail System is hereby established and adopted for implementation by government agencies to
rationalize government operations and to improve the delivery of goods and services to the general
public.

Government agencies shall use the GovMail System, which uses a reliable and secure e-mail and
collaboration platform and which supports a variety of operating systems, for internal, inter-agency and
public communications. The e-mail system shall have unique agency names with .gov.ph suffix and use
a central server and public key infrastructure for added level of security.

SECTION 2. Coverage of the Use of the GovMail System

The use of the GovMail System is mandatory for the Executive branch of government, including
national government agencies (NGAs), bureaus and offices, government-owned and -controlled
corporations (GOCCs), government financial institutions (GFIs) and state universities and colleges
(SUCs); constitutional bodies, House of Representatives, the Senate and the Judiciary; and the local
government units (LGUs).

SECTION 3. Administration, Operation and Maintenance of the GovMail System

The administration, operation and maintenance of the GovMail System, including the servers, shall be
the responsibility of the ICT Office to ensure the reliability, integrity and efficiency of the system.
The ICT Office shall develop the necessary roll-out plan for the GovMail Service and formulate tools
to monitor the GovMail System implementation.

The ICT Office shall likewise come up with the needed resources to ensure a smooth and successful
implementation of the GovMail System.

SECTION 4. Responsibilities of the ICT Office

The responsibilities of the ICT Office are as follows:

a) Communicate the GovMail Service Policy to the government agencies and other stakeholders
involved;
b) Establish the naming convention for e-mail addresses under the GovMail Service;
c) Provide maintenance and technical support during GovMail downtimes or disruptions,
including disruptions affecting related services, such as Chat and File Sender;
d) Provide system updates, patches, bug fixes and other processes or operations affecting the
GovMail Service;
e) Orient the agency personnel head, e-mail account administrator and chief information officer
who shall be responsible for the administration of the GovMail Service within a government
agency;
f) Provide administrator and account management support through its GovMail team. Account
 management support shall be limited to the creation, deletion and editing of GovMail
accounts;
g) Monitor the GovMail Service provisions and legal agreements related to the provisioning of
the GovMail Service;
h) Communicate with the agency CIOs or their delegates in case administrative matters relating
to the GovMail Service arise;
i) Regulate and make the necessary investigation on matters relating to anti-spam and
counterfeit or forged e-mail; and
j) Issue other policy documents relating to the GovMail Service, as may be necessary.

SECTION 5. Responsibilities of Other Government Agencies

The responsibilities of the government agencies using the GovMail System are the following:

a) Ensure that the GovMail Service is provided to government employees who need it;
b) Ensure that every office GovMail account is posted in accordance with the RA No. 9485;
c) Ensure that the e-mail addresses adhere to the provisions of the GovMail Service Policy on e-
mail naming convention;
d) Store all relevant information of the agency e-mail account holders, whether personal or
technical, which is related to GovMail accounts and to be able to reproduce such information
as may be required;
e) Ensure that all agency e-mail account holders are trained in the use of the GovMail System;
f) Prepare a detailed report in case of suspension or termination of a GovMail account;
g) Ensure that the agency e-mail account holders agree to the terms and conditions of the
GovMail Service Policy and has signed the GovMail Policy Acknowledgement Form;
h) Submit and complete the required documents set by the ICT Office for the creation of the
.gov.ph e-mail accounts; and
i) Designate two personnel who will act as the agency e-mail account administrator and
alternate. They shall be tasked with the following responsibilities:

i. Sign the non-disclosure agreement regarding the administration of the agency e-mail
accounts;
ii. Implement the e-mail policy consistently and uniformly at all times;
iii. Provide additional accounts for new and approved personnel, as well as non-
personnel accounts and distribution lists as approved by agency authority;
iv. Handle first level e-mail support for ICT Office employees, including but not limited
to: Inquiries on e-mail account; password changes; account status modification,
including activation, locking and closing; and account detail updates;
v. Elevate other support cases to the GovMail team of the ICT Office;
vi. Disseminate information, announcements, and notices from the GovMail System
administrators to the agency employees;
vii. Submit the usage statistics, administration activity monitoring logs and compliance
monitoring report every month to the ICT Office executive director;
viii. Deactivate and archive the e-mails of authorized users who have resigned, retired,
separated from the service and those whose e-mail privilege has been suspended;
and
ix. Act as one of the signatories to the Employee Clearance required for resigning,
retiring or separated employees.
SECTION 6. Funding

The ICT Office is hereby authorized to allot fund for the implementation of this AO to be sourced from
the Electronic Government Fund (e-Gov Fund), subject to the usual government accounting and
auditing rules and regulations.

SECTION 7. Reports

Reports relative to the implementation of this AO shall be submitted by the ICT Office annually and/or
as often as maybe required by the President.

SECTION 8. Separability Clause

Should any provision of this AO is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not
affected thereby shall remain valid and subsisting.

SECTION 9. Repealing Clause

All orders, issuances, rules and regulations or parts thereof that are inconsistent with this AO are hereby
repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SECTION 10. Effectivity

This AO shall take effect immediately.

DONE, in the City of Manila, this ___ day of ______, in the year of our Lord, Two Thousand and
Fifteen.

By the President:

PAQUITO N. OCHOA JR.

Executive Secretary