Electonic Notarization

Over the weekend I was thinking about the feasibility or the necessity of notarizing electronic documents of Republic Act No. 8792, the Electronic Commerce Act.

What exactly is notarization and its value to parties involved in a transaction?
Notarization converts a private document into a public document and renders the document admissible in court as evidence without need for further proof of its authenticity. Notarization also vests upon the document the presumption of regularity unless it is impugned by strong, complete and conclusive proof.
The primary purpose of notarization is the prevention of fraud. The Notary Public acts a witness to the subscription (signing) of legal documents and helps to protect the legal rights of the persons whose signature are being notarized. The Notary Public must assure the persons signing a document are who they claim to be and are signing the document willingly. Hence the document to be notarized must in fact be signed by he parties concerned in the presence of the Notary Public.
The very basis of electronic documents or transaction is the lack of a face to face negotiation and conclusion of the contract between or among the parties. This is done out of convenience for all concerned. Since there is actually no physical contact among the parties, it would be absurd to force said parties to appear before a Notary just to have the documents notarized.
I would posit that given the various provisions in Republic Act 8792 concerning authentication of the electronic document to ensure its integrity and reliability, notarization as a means of further authentication would be redundant. Notarization as previously noted is aimed at the prevention of fraud. As the law is currently worded, there are sufficient safeguards in place to frustrate or prevent the very act of fraud.