Insider Spotlight
During the council's 10th meeting at Malacañang Palace, members welcomed the President's signing of Executive Order No. 119, which updates the government's data classification framework and establishes a national data residency policy.
The measure is expected to provide greater regulatory clarity for cloud providers, data center operators and technology investors while reinforcing the country's data sovereignty.
Why it matters
The council proposed adopting a coordinated national approach to protecting critical information infrastructure, arguing that operators should be allowed to activate pre-authorized emergency response protocols during major cyber incidents or disasters instead of waiting for case-by-case government approvals, a company release said.
PSAC-Digital Infra also reiterated its support for the proposed Cybersecurity Act, which is under committee consolidation in the House of Representatives, and called for amendments to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 to better address evolving cyber threats while supporting innovation and the competitiveness of the Philippine IT-BPM sector.
On artificial intelligence, the council recommended using AI to strengthen cyber defense through threat detection, fraud prevention, incident response and continuous monitoring of critical infrastructure.
It also urged the government to classify AI models, training datasets and the data centers hosting them as part of the country's critical information infrastructure as the Philippines builds sovereign computing capacity.
"In AI, standing still is falling behind. It is moving so fast that governance, trust, and capability-building must evolve just as quickly," MDI Group Holdings Inc. chair Myla Villanueva said.
The big picture
The council also endorsed a proposed One Canal Policy that would establish a common conduit system for fiber and utility deployment along national roads and public rights-of-way.
The proposal aims to reduce construction costs and deployment timelines by allowing multiple operators to share underground infrastructure instead of repeatedly excavating roads.
To expand digital inclusion, the group recommended prioritizing the connection of rural health units and state universities and colleges to the National Fiber Backbone, saying improved connectivity would support telemedicine, digital learning, research and AI readiness while making broadband expansion into underserved communities more commercially viable.
Meanwhile, Converge ICT Solutions Inc. CEO Dennis Anthony Uy presented a consortium initiative involving Converge, Globe, and PLDT to strengthen the country's submarine cable network through greater redundancy, with the goal of improving connectivity and supporting the Philippines' long-term digital economy and AI ambitions.
"The threat landscape changes faster than any policy cycle. What we are proposing is not a fixed set of rules but a standing capability—so that when the next incident comes, and it will, the country is not starting the conversation from behind, but ahead of the problem," Villanueva said. —Princess Daisy C. Ominga| Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
