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In the interest of the service and in order to ensure the efficient management and maintenance of the websites of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and its attached agencies/offices, the following DOST Website Policy is hereby promulgated for adoption in the DOST System.

SECTION 1. Policy Statement -

1.1 The DOST and its attached agencies/offices are committed to making its website contents accessible to everyone.

1.2 The DOST and its attached agencies/offices are committed to implement good governance and high standard for managing and maintaining their websites.

SECTION 2. Scope of the Policy

2.1 The policy applies to the DOST portal and the websites of its attached agencies/offices for proper management.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms - The definition of terms used in this order shall be as follows:

Accessibility refers to guidelines and techniques used to make a website accessible to persons with all abilities and disabilities.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) refers to a stylesheet language used to describe the presentation of a document written in a markup language.

Content Management System (CMS) refers to computer software used to create, edit, manage and publish content in a consistently organized manner.

Content Manager refers to the person assigned by each DOST attached agencies/offices to oversee the proper management of contents for their respective websites.

DOST and its attached agencies/offices refer to Sectoral Planning Councils, Advisory Bodies, Research and Development Institutes, Service Institutes, Regional Offices and the Central Office (CO) which comprise the DOST.

DOST ITD refers to the Information Technology Division of the DOST-CO.

DOST Media Core - refers to the group of information officers from different DOST-attached agencies/offices responsible for writing press releases and news items for their respective offices.

DOST Webmasters Consortium - refers to the association of IT personnel, MIS staff or other representatives from different DOST attached agencies/offices and DOST-Media Core.

Downloadable Files - refers to all soft copies of forms, guidelines, brochures, images and videos posted in the website.

Flash Video (FLV) refers to the name of a file format used to deliver video over the internet using Flasy Player. These are considered streaming video files, which do not require complete downloading of the entire file before it can be viewed.

Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) refers to a bit-mapped graphics file format used by the web. It supports color and various resolutions. It also includes data compression, but since because it is limited to 256 colors, it is more effective for scanned images such as illustrations rather than color photos.

GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) refers to a widely used free software license. The GPL is said to grant the recipients of a computer program the rights of the free software definition allowing modification and redistribution of the program, and ensuring that freedoms are preserved, even when the work is changed or added to.

Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) refers to the most common image format used by digital cameras and other photographic image capture devices and is the most common format for storing and transmitting photographic images on the web.

Linking refers to the way of making a reference to another document or resource. Such connection takes you to other document or resource when you clik on them.

Metadata refers to data about data of any sort in any media. It is used to speed up and enrich searching for resources.

MOV refers to a Quick Time media container format that can store audio and video data.

Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) refers to the name of a family of standards used for coding audio-visual information (e.g., movies, video, music) in a digital compressed format.

MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3) - refers to a computer file format for the compression and storage of digital audio data.

Multimedia - refers to the audio, still images, animation, video and other interactive contents, which can be embedded in the website.

Naming refers to the process of assigning a particular word or phrase to a particular object or property.

Ogg  refers to a free, open standard container format that is designed to provide for efficient streaming and manipulation of high quality digital multimedia.

Patch refers to a place of software designed to fix problems, or update a computer program or its supporting data. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs and improving the usability or performance.

Portable Document Format (PDF) refers to a file format which has become a standard for document transfer. It captures formatting information from a variety of desktop publishing applications, making it possible to send formatted documents and have them appear on the recipient’s monitor or printer as they were intended.

Portable Network Graphics (PNG) refers to an extensible file format for the lossless, portable, well-compressed storage of raster images.

Publications refer to DOST materials transmitted to the general public in print and/or online form.

RealMedia (RM) refers to a multimedia container format created by Real Networks. It is typically used in conjunction with RealVideo and RealAudio and is used for streaming content over the Internet.

Really Simple Syndication, Rich Site Summary or RDF Site Summary (RSS) feed refers to several similar forms of web syndication used by news websites.

Sector Categories refer to the following science and technology fields: Agriculture, Aquaculture, Biotechnology, Education, Food and Nutrition, Health and Medicine, General Information, Industry and Business, Information and Communications Technology, Natural Disaster and Mitigation, Nuclear and Weather.

Shockwave Flash (SWF) - refers to a partially open file format for multimedia which is intended to be small enough for publication on the web. It can contain animations or applets of varying degrees of interactivity and function.

Standard template - includes the following elements: agency/office logo, cluster, Philippine Flag, “Department of Science and Technology” , and “Republic of the Philippine” (refer to NCC standards for government websites).

Syndication or Web Syndication refers to the process of making web feeds available from a site in order to provide other people with a summary of the website’s recently added content.

Website refers to a collection of web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is accessible via the internet.

Web Browser - refers to a software application which enables a user to display and interact with text, images, videos, music and other information typically located in a web page at a website.

Windows Media Audio (WMA) refers to an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft.

Windows Media Video (WMV) refers to compressed video file format developed by Microsoft. It was originally designed for internet streaming applications.

SECTION 4. Content Policy -

4.1 DOST and its attached agencies/offices shall be responsible for the contents of their respective websites and ensure the quality, objectivity, utility and integrity of the information posted.

4.2 DOST and its attached agencies/offices shall maintain a standard website template. Any Changes on the standard template shall be subject for review and approval of the DOST Webmasters Consortium.

4.3 Website contents shall be related to the agency’s or office’s mission, vision, functions, goals and objectives.

4.4 The categories for the DOST portal and the websites of its attached agencies/offices are the following:

4.4.1 The minimum requirements:

4.4.1.1 Agency/Office Profile
4.4.1.2 News
4.4.1.3 Programs, Projects and Activities

4.4.2 Other categories when applicable:

4.4.2.1 Products and Technologies
4.4.2.2 Services
4.4.2.3 Publications
4.4.2.4 Science and Technology Breakthroughs, Inventions and other related Topics
4.4.2.5 Facilities/Laboratories
4.4.2.6 Downloadable files
4.4.2.7 Job Postings

4.5 Website contents shall be subject to the approval of the agency/office head or authorized representative.

4.6 DOST and its attached agencies/offices shall provide RSS feeds for their latest news items to allow other DOST websites to syndicate their news items.

4.7 Downloadable files owned by DOST and its attached agencies/offices shall be hosted in their respective servers. It is recommended that a link be provided to redirect users to the download page containing the file/s.

4.8 Descriptions shall be provided for all downloadable files, including their file size.

4.9 DOST and its attached agencies/offices shall include a search feature in their websites. To facilitate search, keywords and metadata shall be provided in the website contents.

4.10 DOST and its attached agencies/offices shall provide all available contact information such as phone number/s, facsimile number/s, postal address and email address.

4.11 Articles for posting shall use the following format:

Title
Sector Category
Date
Author’s Name
Content

Refer to Section 3 for Sector Category.

4.12 The DOST-Media Core under the Science and Technology Information Institute (STII) shall be responsible for the review and selection of news headline for the DOST website. Articles can be extracted through the RSS feeds from the DOST attached agencies/offices websites.

4.13 The DOST and its attached agencies/offices websites shall use an open source CMS.

4.14 Website contents such as templates, articles, publications, images and press releases may be copyrighted by their respective owners subject to the copyright law.

4.15 Memoranda, circulars, resolutions, administrative orders and other related policies issued by government agencies pertaining to websites, shall be complied, if applicable.

SECTION 5. Linking Policy

5.1 DOST attached agencies/offices shall provide a link to the DOST portal and other DOST agencies/offices website and vice vera. The links shall be classifed accordingly: Research and Development Institutes; Service Institutes; Advisory Bodies; Sectoral Planning Councils; Central Offices; and Regional Offices.

5.2 DOST and its attached agencies/offices shall provide a link to the Philippines Government Website http://www.gov.ph.

5.3 Other related links for posting at the DOST and its attached agencies/office websites shall be subject to the approval of the agency/office head or authorized representative.

5.4 DOST portal shall provide a link to the programs, projects, products, technologies, services, publications, facilities/laboratories and downloadable files of each DOST attached agency/office.

5.5 DOST portal shall provide links to the local and/or international collaborators and partners of the different DOST agencies and offices.

SECTION 6. Multimedia Policy -

6.1 Multimedia files shall have the following standards:

6.1.1 Acceptable image file formats are jpeg, gif and png, and shall have a resolution of 75 pixels.
6.1.2 Acceptable video file formats for streaming are ogg, wmv, mpeg, rm, mov and flv, and shall not exceed 20MB per file.
6.1.3 Acceptable audio file formats are ogg, mp3 and wma, and shall not be bigger than 4MB per file.
6.1.4 Acceptable interactive files shall be in swf format and the dimension shall not exceed the width of website.

SECTION 7. Accessibility Policy for Users with All Abilities and Disabilities -

7.1 The website shall be accessible using any web browser.

7.2 DOST portal and the websites of its attached agencies/offices shall have a feedback form on their respective websites to allow users to communicate problems related to web accessibility and provide a way of sending inquiries.

7.3 The website shall have a functionality to convert web contents into a Portable Document Format (PDF).

7.4 The design of the website for accessibiity shall refer to the National Computer Center-National Council on Disability Affairs (NCC-NCDA) Joint Circular No. 1, series of 2010, “Accessible Website Design Guidelines.”

SECTION 8. Webmasters Consortium -

8.1 The DOST Webmasters Consortium (WMC) shall be comprised of the Department’s webmaster and IT staff from different sectoral planning councils, research and development institutes, service institutes, advisory bodies and regional offices and/or provincial S & T centers; and representative from DOST- Media Core.

8.2 The consortium shall be under the supervision of the DOST Central Office’s Information Technology Division.

8.3 The consortium shall have the following duties and responsibilities:

8.3.1 Formulate the rules and implementing guidelines for the management of the DOST website and those of DOST attached agencies/offices.

8.3.2 Review, assess, improve and implement the website templates of DOST and its attached agencies and offices.

8.3.3 Handle the development and improvement of website of their respective agencies or offices.

8.3.4 Review and recommend the classification of information for the DOST website

8.3.5 Enable the website of the DOST agencies and offices to provide news feeds for new items to be published in the DOST website.

8.3.6 Designate a Leader and Assistant Leader to represent the following groups: Research and Development Institutes, Service Institutes, Sectoral Planning Councils and Advisory Bodies, Regional Offices, DOST-Central Office and DOST-Media Core.

SECTION 9. Website Administrator Policy -

9.1 The authority and responsibility to update, maintain and administer the website shall rest solely to the personnel designated by the head or authorized representative of the agency/office.

SECTION 10. Security Policy -

10.1 The installation of any extension or third-party application, scripts, database or other components of the website shall be the sole responsibility of the web administrator of the website. The website extensions/plug-ins shall be reviewed and approved by DOST-ITD and the Team Leaders of the WMC for any vulnerability prior to installation.

10.2 The web administrator shall regularly check for security updates and install available patches.

SECTION 11. General Principles in Proper Use of Website Administration and Management -

11.1 A website administrator/manager may access only those page/s or section/s of the website/s that he/she has been assigned to administer and/or manage. The DOST websites shall be used in accordance with its authorized purpose.

11.2 The following uses and acts are considered violations in the use of the DOST and its attached agencies/offices’ websites:

11.2.1 Posting of contents contrary to laws and ethical behavior

11.2.1.1 Criminal Use. Users shall not use the DOST portal and the websites of its attached agencies/offices for criminal activities.

11.2.1.2 Use of Copyrighted Material without Attribution. Prohibited acts include but are not limited to:

11.2.1.2.1 Copying, reproduction, dissemination, distribution, use, importation, removal, alteration, substitution, modification, storage, uploading, downloading, communication, publication or broadcasting of copyrighted material not properly attributed.

11.2.1.2.2 Infringement of intellectual property rights of others through the improper use of DOST portal and websites of its attached agencies/offices.

11.2.1.3 Plagiarism. Prohibited acts include but not limited to:

11.2.1.3.1 Copying contents from another persons’ work and submitting it for one’s own credit.

11.2.1.3.2 Publishing the shared file as one’s individual work, when the work is a collaborative work or part of a larger project.

11.2.2. Posting of contents for personal benefit, business, or partisan activities, directly or indirectly

11.2.2.1 Commercial use other than promotion of DOST-assisted projects and programs.

11.2.2.2 Any partisan political activities, religious or political lobbying for disseminating information or gathering support or contributions for social, political or cause-oriented group, inconsistent with the mandate of the DOST.

11.2.3 Acts that damage the integrity, reliability, confidentiality and efficiency of the respective website.

11.2.3.1 Unauthorized removal, modification or installation of any extension or third-party application, scripts, database, or other components of the website.

11.2.3.2 Any act that attempts to crash or to deny the service of the websites.

11.2.3.3 Masquerading as other users when accessing, sending, receiving, uploading and posting on the website.

11.2.4 Acts that violate the rights of other users

11.2.4.1 Sending unsolicited content such as chain letters, advertisements, jokes, trivia, announcements to non-official groups or activites, offers, inquiries and the like;

11.2.4.2 Morally offensive and obscene use. Posting, uploading, disseminating, or displaying material that could be considered offensive, pornographic, racially abusive, culturally insenstive or libelous in nature;

11.2.4.3 Posting Fraudulent and Harassing Contents. Posting information which are fraudulent, maliciously harassing, obscene, threatening or in violation of laws, administrative rules and regulations or other policies of the DOST.

SECTION 12. Offenses and Equivalent Administrative Offenses -
 

DOST Website Policy Offenses		Equivalent Administrative Offense
1. Commercial Use - Commercial use other than promotion of DOST-assisted projects and programs		Dishonesty or Grave Misconduct
2. Religious or Political Lobbying - Use of DOST portal and the websites of its attached agencies/offices for religious or political lobbying.		Civil service laws rules and regulations punish engaging in partisan polticial activities and NOT religious activities.
Engaging directly or indirectly in partisan political activities by one holding a non-political office.		Thus if the DOST and its attached agencies/offices websites were used for religious lobbying, the same is not punishable under this administrative offense. However, the same may be punished under “Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service.”
3. Copyright Infringement - Reproduction, duplication, transmission of copyrighted materials.		Dishonesty
4. Criminal Use - Using the websites for criminal activities.		Grave Misconduct
5. Concealing Access - Masquerading as another user when accessing, sending, receiving, uploading and posting on the website.		Grave Misconduct
6. Posting Fraudulent and Harassing Contents.		Simple Misconduct
Posting information which are fraudulent, maliciously harassing, obscene, threatening or in violation of laws, administrative rules and regulations or other policies of the DOST.
7. Morally Offensive and Obscene Use. Posting, uploading, disseminating or displaying material that could be considered offensive, pornographic, racially abusive, culturally insensitive or libelous in nature.		Simple Misconduct
8. Unauthorized manipulation/changing of the the DOST portal and the websites of its attached agencies/offices website configuration of setup.		Simple Misconduct

SECTION 13. Disciplinary Action

13.1  Violations. Failure to follow the DOST Website Policy is subject to penalties as herein provided:
 

OFFENSES	PENALTIES
Simple Misconduct	1st offense - Suspension for one (1) month and and one (1) day to six (6) months;
	2nd Offense - Dismissal
Grave Misconduct	1st Offense - Dismissal
Dishonesty	1st offense - Dismissal
Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service	1st offense - Suspension for six (6) month and (1) day to one (1) year;
	2nd offense - Dismissal

13.2 Applicable Laws - All disciplinary action proceedings shall follow the Civil Service Commission Uniform Rules and Regulations on Administrative Cases and/or legal action provided by applicable Philippine laws.

13.3 Additional Penalties - In addition to the filing of an administrative case and sanctions that will be filed against the violators, appropriate charges will be filed in court if offenses are punishable under the Philippine E-Commerce Law (R.A. 8792) or any other applicable Philippine Laws.

SECTION 14. Enforcement Procedures -

14.1 Enforcement procedures shall be consistent with the existing enforcement procedures of the DOST Administrative Order No. 012, series of 2003 “DOST ICT Usage and Security Policy.”

SECTION 15. Disclaimer and Waiver -

15.1 Disclaimer. While the DOST takes careful steps to provide good governance and high standard for managing and maintaining the websites, DOST does not guarantee nor does it provide any warranties as to the operating characteristics of its websites to any of its users.

15.2 Waiver. DOST shall not be responsible for any loss or damage, whether direct or indirect or otherwise, that may arise from the use of the DOST portal and the websites of its attached agencies/offices by any person or entity.

SECTION 16. Effectivity and Amendments

15.1 Effectivity. This order shall take effect immediately.

15.2 Amendments. The DOST may amend or modify this policy to maintain its applicability. The amendments or modifications shall form part of the overall DOST Website Policy, and shall be considered binding on all users.

Adopted: 19 May 2011


(SGD.) MARIO G. MONTEJO
Secretary