The views expressed in this presentation are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views or policies of the

Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), its Board of Directors, or the governments
they represent. ADBI does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any
consequences of their use. Terminology used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms.

DIGITAL ECONOMY IN THE

PHILIPPINES:
OPPORTUNITIES, RISKS
AND CHALLENGES
(A Presentation By Arriel N. Nengasca, Senior Trade And Industry Development Specialist,
Department Of Trade And Industry, Davao City, Philippines during the Digital Economy
Workshop on February 21-22, 2018 in New Delhi, India)
Legal and Policy Framework
●Repu blic Act No. 8792 (Ph ilippin es Elect r on ic Com m er ce Act of 2000) or An act providing for the
recognition and use of electronic commercial and non-commercial transactions and documents,
penalties for unlawful use thereof and for other purposes.

● Repu blic Act No. 10173 (Dat a Pr ivacy Act of 2012) or An act protecting individual personal
information in information and communications systems in the government and the private sector,
creating for this purpose a National Policy Commission and for other purposes.

● Republic Act No. 10844 (Depar t m ent of Inf or m at ion and Com m unicat ions Technology Act of 2015) or An act
creating the Department of Information and Communications Technology, defining its powers and functions,
appropriating funds, therefor, and for other purpose.

- DICT was direct ed by t he President Dut ert e t o develop t he Nat ional Broadband Plan (NBP) t o improve
int ernet speed in t he Philippines.
Challenges per Tholons 2017 Survey
● Philippines = Top 3 digital nation (after India, China)

● Davao City = dropped to 85th, from 66th, and classified as ASPIRING

● Robotic workforce

● Half of traditional BPO workforce needs RE-SKILLING

● Increased innovation and digital transformation in schools, government

and industries

● Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Social Media, Cyber Security Risks, Big
data, Mobility and “As a Service”
Tholons criteria, scores
Criteria Davao - 85th Cebu - 12th NCR - 4th Bangalore - 1st

Talent, Skill and Quality 0.5 1.2 1.6 1.6

Business Catalyst 0.3 1.3 1.5 1.5

Cost 1.3 1.1 1.4 1.4

Infrastructure 0.5 0.7 0.9 0.9

Risk and Quality of Life 0.5 0.6 0.8 1.1

Digital and Innovation 0.3 0.4 1.0 1.6

ScoringParameters
I.C.T. DAVAO, INC. - Our story
31.12.15 03.01.16
20 trade associations Center of Excellence in IT-BPM
NICP charter member Operations - Davao City
Chair, BIMP EAGA ICT CEO Forum

02.22.06 01.01.16 08.07.17

Registered with the SEC Top 100 Outsourcing 45,000 workers
Destinations in the World - 8 billion pesos annual revenue
66th Place, Davao City