Are we losing our edge?

The Philippine IT and Business Process Management Association (IBPAP) unveiled a preview of the nation's IT-BPM Roadmap 2028 at the International IT-BPM Summit in Parañaque. The roadmap aims to elevate the industry's focus from capacity to capability as it strives to reach the peak of its growth projection. With two years left until the roadmap's full release in October, the preview highlights the potential for the sector to generate $50.5 billion in revenues and employ 2.14 million individuals by 2028 in an accelerated growth scenario. However, a slower growth outlook suggests a revenue of $43.3 billion and 1.89 million employees.

Despite the promising outlook, the Roadmap acknowledges the Philippines' susceptibility to competition from neighboring ASEAN countries, which are already surpassing the nation in AI-enhanced technology exports. According to a UNESCO AI Readiness Assessment Report, the Philippines seeks to join the upper middle-income economies by capitalizing on AI's transformative potential.

AI adoption could potentially boost the country's GDP by up to P2.8 trillion ($50.7 billion) by 2030, with IT, business process management, retail, manufacturing, and financial services expected to play a pivotal role. Nevertheless, the report underscores that the Philippines still needs to address structural issues, including poor digital infrastructure, fragmented policymaking, bureaucratic inefficiencies, limited R&D investments, outdated legal frameworks, and fluctuating public-private partnerships.

Alongside these challenges, the report warns of potential AI-related drawbacks, such as job displacements, supply-chain disruptions, and the exacerbation of political polarization due to deepfakes and bots. However, the report also notes positive developments, including the emergence of a collaborative trifecta of industry-academia-civil society advocating for reforms and facilitating discussions on AI policymaking.

The report emphasizes the need for a more proactive and ethical approach to AI policymaking to unlock the full potential of the Philippines' AI sector and alleviate concerns surrounding AI-enabled tools. IBPAP president Celeste Ilagan stresses the urgency for industry, government, and academia to unite in driving the roadmap forward, focusing on scalable talent development, shifting to higher-value services, and strengthening competitiveness to secure a prosperous future for the Philippines.