Gov’t urged to close gap in digital infrastructure
A think tank on Sunday called on the government and stakeholders to promote digital infrastructure projects strategy as it raised concerns about the Philippines’ position in the global digital economy.
In a statement, Stratbase Institute said that the Philippines lags behind the growing global data center market as it continues to lack infrastructure and policies needed to adapt to demands of the global digital economy.
Stratbase Institute president Victor Andres Manhit said that the country falls behind other Southeast Asian countries in securing hyperscale data center and cloud infrastructure investments.
Citing reports from Synergy Research Group and Grand View Research, he said that the global data center market is forecast to grow to $652 billion by 2030.
Data from Cloudscene, Reuters and Data Center Dynamics show that Malaysia and Indonesia secured digital infrastructure investment worth $16.7 billion and $5 billion, he noted that the Philippines only captured $1.35 billion in center data commitments, primarily from STT GDC-Ayala and PLDT.
“Policymakers and business leaders must urgently align national infrastructure and data governance policies so that the Philippines won’t miss out on billions in potential investment if current trends on the global data center market persist,” Manhit said in a statement.
Meanwhile, he said that the Philippines “holds a comparative advantage” in the data sovereignty aspect due to the country’s Data Privacy Act and rollout of Model Contractual Clauses for cross-border data transfers.
Manhit also emphasized that positioning the country as a leader in the digital economy is not just about technology but a “battle for billions and for our future.”
With this, he said that a long-term national digital infrastructure strategy must be finalized and there should be stronger partnerships between the government, telecommunications companies, and the private sector.
“We need targeted energy incentives to bring down the cost of running digital facilities. We must ramp up STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education and invest in real AI (artificial intelligence) skills training. And above all, we must ensure our data policies stay open, innovation-friendly, and trusted—while still safeguarding national interests,” Manhit stressed.
