PHILIPPINES Trends and Developments Contributed by: Patricia A. O. Bunye and Christianne Grace F. Salonga, Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia
may slow overall economic growth. The risk is further compounded by the 1% tax on outward remittances imposed under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Act, which could reduce the
To support this growth, the government has laid the groundwork through strategic policies such as the Philippine Digital Transformation Road - map, the National Broadband Plan and the CREATE MORE Act, which collectively foster an enabling environment for digital infrastructure investment. These are further reinforced in the Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028, which prioritises telecommunications reform and digi - tal infrastructure development. A landmark measure under this reform agenda is the Konektadong Pinoy Bill, or the Open Access in Data Transmission Act, ratified by both houses of Congress in June 2025 and currently awaiting President Marcos Jr’s signature. This bill seeks to liberalise the telecoms sector by eliminating the legislative franchise requirement for build - ing and operating data infrastructure. Instead, it introduces a streamlined registration process with the National Telecommunications Commis - sion, thereby lowering network roll-out costs and improving the quality and accessibility of digital services. The government is also focused on enhancing the security and capacity of digital infrastructure, especially for the storage and processing of criti - cal, private and confidential data. This includes support for the establishment of hyperscale data centres across the country. In April 2025, Presi - dent Marcos Jr inaugurated the Philippines’ first hyperscale and AI-ready data centre in Santa Rosa, Laguna. The VITRO Sta. Rosa Data Cent - er, a 500-megawatt facility developed by VIT - RO Inc (a subsidiary of ePLDT under the PLDT Group), is powered by NVIDIA GPU servers and introduces the country’s first “GPU as a Ser - vice” offering. This allows businesses to access advanced AI computing capabilities without the need for substantial upfront investments.
total remittances sent to the country. Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence
The Philippines has made significant strides in its digital transformation, driven by both govern - ment initiatives and private sector investments. Central to these efforts is the e-Government Master Plan, which has expanded online acces - sibility to over 70% of government services, according to a 2024 report by the Department of Information and Communications Technology. These digital advancements reflect the govern - ment’s broader commitment to improving pub - lic service delivery and promoting innovation across sectors. As part of enhancing governance through digi - tal systems, the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corpora - tions secured a PHP14.12 million grant from the Asian Development Bank for the development of a Common Reporting System (CRS). The CRS aims to strengthen the integrated corporate reporting mechanisms used by state agencies, thereby improving efficiency, transparency and data management. The current administration also recognises the transformative economic impact of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). With the Philippines ranking among the highest globally in mobile phone usage, e-commerce activity and internet penetration, the country is well positioned to experience rapid growth in AI adoption, cloud services and data storage, spur - ring increased demand for data centres.
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