PH AI governance framework set for rollout

The Philippines’ first artificial intelligence (AI) governance framework is expected to be finalized in two months, according to the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), with the measure seen to close the country’s AI readiness gap as it trails its regional peers.

Speaking at the 2026 National Innovation Day, DEPDev Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said that the agency had already presented the framework to various stakeholders for consultations.

The framework will follow the ecosystem of the National Innovation Agenda and Strategy.

“We want an AI development and deployment that will safeguard the sovereignty and long-term sustainability of the Philippine economy and society through the responsible use of AI. It should enable innovation by establishing a supportive and adaptive environment for AI research, development and deployment,” Edillon said.

“It adopts a human-centered and rights-based approach to AI, ensuring that systems uphold dignity, equity and societal well-being. It ensures data privacy, security and accountability while enforcing robust safeguards for data owners, developers and even users,” she added.

Figures from the International Monetary Fund showed that developing economies, including the Philippines, scored below 0.11 in the AI preparedness index.

Separately, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s 2025 Digital Government Index found that the country scored 0.28 out of 1. This is the third lowest among the eight Southeast Asian countries covered by the study and fell below the regional average of 0.37.

Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, for his part, said that the framework was expected to close or at least reduce the readiness gap.

“The framework should allow us to see what we need to address, what we need to develop, what we need to strengthen,” he told reporters on the sidelines.

“If we don’t have a good policy and clear governance framework, we expose our people to unnecessary risk. So the opportunities are huge, the benefits are huge, but we need to ensure that the technology does not pose harm to anyone. Just like any technologies, they can be misused,” he added.

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Balisacan also noted that AI is expected to contribute 10 to 18 percent of gross domestic product in the Asean region by 2030.

“In one of our briefings, we indicated that our digital commerce has been growing rapidly. We have the framework to seize the opportunities offered by AI technologies,” Balisacan said.

“Our focus is on upskilling and reskilling our workforce and getting the private sector, government and academe to work together. This will ensure that AI is a growth force for us,” he added.

DEPDev’s framework will serve as the government’s formal policy, while the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Information and Communications Technology will continue implementing AI programs across sectors, such as education, health and agriculture.