Strong AI governance may drive value creation for PHL businesses

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

PHILIPPINE COMPANIES must prioritize crafting governance frameworks for artificial intelligence (AI) use to effectively reap these technologies’ benefits while managing potential risks, according to the country’s telecommunication giants.

“[AI] governance is often treated like a side dish. It’s an afterthought because we can’t attach revenue to governance,” Derick Ohmar Adil, senior director for AI Data Governance at Globe Telecom, Inc., said during a panel discussion at the BusinessWorld Economic Forum last week.

Mr. Adil said strong AI governance is like “good parenting” as it ensures that employees responsibly exercise the freedom to use AI in their work.

“Your governance [policies] will make sure that your AI is not a liability, but more of a force multiplier.”

Patricio S. Pineda III, PLDT Inc. senior vice-president and head of Enterprise Business Group, said an effective governance policy can help ensure that AI adds value to a company.

“The truth of the matter is, your employees are already using AI whether you’re paying for it or not,” Mr. Pineda said.

When coming up with AI use policies, firms must ensure that there is a balance of voices, he said. “You’ve got to have the business and innovation [sections] pushing for new products to market because that’s what customers demand, but at the same time, you’ve got to have knowledgeable people on the governance and risk side.”

The Philippines improved by nine places to 56^th of out 188 countries in the 2024 Government AI Readiness Index published by Oxford Insights.

AI adoption remains varied across Philippine industries, with data-intensive sectors like telcos and banking leading the way.

Meanwhile, analysts have said there is massive untapped potential for AI in the agriculture, healthcare, and logistics sectors.

Mr. Adil said small and medium enterprises also remain unsure where or how to start their AI journey.

“I think that’s what’s lacking with Philippines right now. What we need to do is put together a national strategy to know where we’re heading [in terms of AI adoption],” he said. citing countries like Singapore and Vietnam that have invested heavily in AI talent and innovation.

Mr. Pineda added that the rise of AI and cloud computing technologies has pushed companies like PLDT to cater to the demand for data centers and internet connectivity with stronger capacity.

“A lot of the data that we will be working with will probably be coming from abroad, and a lot of our own data is being hosted with hyperscalers abroad,” he said.

PLDT’s construction of the Philippine link of the Asia Direct Cable aims to facilitate seamless data transfer to key hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and China. This is expected to increase PLDT’s international capacity by over 100 Terabits per second.

“It’s a lot of investment, but we believe we’re building ahead,” Mr. Pineda said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Adil also emphasized the need to embed security and privacy in companies’ AI adoption.

Around 85% of Philippine organizations reported AI-related security incidents last year, technology company Cisco said in its 2025 Cybersecurity Readiness Index report.

“AI [adoption] plus that ‘shift to the left’ mindset will make functions like security and privacy not a backend IT (information technology) function, but more of a design decision,” Mr. Adil said.

“I think with this AI era, trust is the new currency. Regardless of how good your AI solution is, if no one will trust it, no one will use it.”

Philippine companies should be more deliberate in their AI goals and consider their contribution to the broader economy, Mr. Adil added.

“We need to be able to invest in smarter, more grounded, local AI solutions that can help solve real issues like food security and education.”

Mr. Pineda said companies must work to understand AI to help unlock opportunities, drive productivity, and generate jobs.

“We can’t decide about what AI can do for companies or for the country if we don’t dig into it ourselves.”