TLDR: The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is spearheading reforms in data classification and localization to attract tech investments and enhance national security. Concurrently, ePLDT has launched ‘Pilipinas AI,’ the nation’s first sovereign AI solutions stack, offering GPU-as-a-Service to enable businesses across various sectors to adopt AI without significant infrastructure investment. These initiatives aim to position the Philippines as a competitive hub for technology and AI development, while addressing critical data security and infrastructure challenges.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is actively pursuing significant reforms in data governance, focusing on classification and localization policies to bolster the Philippines’ attractiveness for technology investments and strengthen national data security. These efforts are part of a broader strategy to update the country’s digital infrastructure and regulatory framework, ensuring it remains competitive in the global tech landscape.
Under its existing cloud-first policy, established in 2020, the DICT categorizes data into non-sensitive, sensitive, above-sensitive, and highly sensitive tiers. Telecommunications giant PLDT has been in discussions with the government to amend this policy, advocating for the introduction of data localization schemes and other regulatory measures. These proposed policies aim to explicitly classify data based on its sensitivity and value, with a critical provision that highly sensitive information, particularly that pertaining to national security, must be stored within the Philippines. This move is intended to address vulnerabilities, as some of the government’s vital data is currently stored in government buildings or on public cloud platforms, making it susceptible to potential threats. The current government data center capacity stands at approximately three megawatts (MW).
In a related and significant development, ePLDT, a subsidiary of PLDT, has unveiled ‘Pilipinas AI,’ the country’s inaugural sovereign AI solutions stack. This innovative platform builds upon the company’s earlier launch of GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS), providing on-demand access to high-performance graphics processing units. Developed in collaboration with technology firm Dell Technologies and generative AI company Katonic AI, Pilipinas AI integrates a robust AI control system and is hosted at VITRO Sta. Rosa. The initiative is designed to empower businesses of all sizes to leverage artificial intelligence without the substantial burden of building or managing their own AI infrastructure. This service is anticipated to have a transformative impact across key sectors, including banking and finance, business process outsourcing, healthcare, public services, and academia.
Also Read:
- Philippine Experts Caution AI Could Exacerbate Digital Divide Without Urgent Reforms
- Philippines Leads Global Surge in Generative AI Course Enrollments
PLDT is also aggressively expanding its data center capabilities, targeting an increase in capacity to as much as 500 MW. Currently, its VITRO facilities boast a total output of 100 MW across 11 data centers nationwide. These combined efforts by the DICT and private sector players like PLDT underscore a concerted push to enhance the Philippines’ digital ecosystem, foster AI adoption, and secure its data infrastructure for future growth and innovation.
