ILOILO City – This city and Iloilo Province could see a fresh wave of business process outsourcing (BPO) expansion and data center investments as the Philippines pushes for a binding digital economy framework across Southeast Asia, a senior trade official said Wednesday at the start of a high-level Association of Southeast Asian Nations (SEAN) economic integration talks here.
The Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) undersecretary Allan Gepty said the proposed ASEAN-wide digital economy agreement is designed to harmonize rules governing trade in services, investments, and digital operations — reforms that could make the Philippines, including emerging regional centers like Iloilo, more attractive to global service providers.
“When we talk about ASEAN engagement, it’s not just limited to export and import. We talk about rules, regulations, and economic policies that touch on trade, services, and investment,” Gepty said. “So to be more specific, under our ASEAN chairship right now, we have a set of priorities in economic deliverables. One good policy that I can highlight is that we are pushing for a strong regime in digital economy.”
Gepty explained that a unified digital policy environment across Southeast Asia would strengthen the Philippines’ competitiveness in the regional services market.
“What’s the value of that? The value of having a digital economy framework agreement between the Philippines and ASEAN is that it will make our region, particularly in the Philippines, a hub for services, so ‘yung mga call centers na ‘yan, even data centers, will be attracted here,” he said.
He pointed out that Iloilo is already positioned to benefit due to its growing IT (information technology) and business process management presence.
“I notice that here, may mga BPOs na naka-establish na. The digital economy integration is highly welcome for them because it is a digital framework-driven environment. It will be attractive for them to set up more investments in the country and the province to provide opportunities for our professionals,” Gepty said. “And of course, you have the facility in English language, which is very important.”
ASEAN economic integration means making Southeast Asia operate more like one connected market instead of 10 separate economies (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia).
Beyond digital integration, Gepty said ASEAN member-states are also pursuing expanded market access through additional free trade agreements, including negotiations with Canada.
“We also have priorities in pushing more free trade agreements, so we intend to talk about forging stronger relationships with Canada. We hope to conclude the Canada–ASEAN Free Trade Agreement this year that will add also another market for our exporters,” he said.
He noted that Western Visayas has already benefited from global trade linkages, citing Iloilo’s herbal tea and piña exports, along with nickel, rattan, and sugar shipments from neighboring provinces.
The High-Level Task Force on ASEAN Economic Integration (HLTF-EI) meetings here from February 25 to 27, gather senior officials and policymakers to refine economic policies, improve existing trade arrangements, and address emerging challenges in Southeast Asia’s rapidly evolving digital and services economy.
“It is a good time for us to introduce ASEAN to Iloilo and Iloilo to ASEAN,” Gepty said. “Because Iloilo is one of the key provinces of the Philippines, one good province to entertain investors and provide opportunities for our stakeholders and professionals. We generate jobs, we generate investments, and we generate more economic activities.”
ASEAN a regional organization formed to promote political stability, economic growth, and regional cooperation among Southeast Asian countries. Current member-states are 10.
The 49th Meeting of the HLTF-EI here is a major international gathering of senior economic officials and ministers from across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region. It serves as a platform for critical discussions on regional economic collaboration and integration./PN