Government executives and industry leaders are pushing for the accelerated execution of a regional digital economy pact as the country steers the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Chairship toward a borderless and inclusive digital future through the kick-off of Manila Tech Summit 2026 on Wednesday.

During the event announcing the summit proper in July, FinTech Alliance.PH founding chair Lito Villanueva said the summit’s four-word theme — secure, sustainable, inclusive, borderless — is “not a slogan, but a standard,” as the Philippines positions itself as a convening hub for the region’s digital agenda.

“As ASEAN Chair, the Philippines has a decisive opportunity to move the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) from aspiration to execution. The Manila Tech Summit 2026 is designed as a working platform, aligning policy, capital, and technology to enable trusted cross-border ecosystems,” Villanueva said.

The summit, he said, is about building a digital economy that is not only innovative, but interoperable, secure and inclusive at scale.

In addition, the summit seeks the accelerated realization of the DEFA that would enable seamless cross-border digital trade, trusted data flows, interoperable payments, and harmonized regulations across the ASEAN region.

Villanueva cited data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showing that the country’s digital economy reached PHP2.74 trillion in 2025, equivalent to approximately 9.8 percent of gross domestic product. Currently, it employs roughly 10.39 million Filipinos — or one in every five workers in the country.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, he noted, reported that over 57 percent of monthly retail transactions are now digital, already exceeding the government’s own target.

Instapay and PesoNet combined processed PHP24.7 trillion in transactions last year, a 42 percent surge year on year.

Despite the growth, Villanueva flagged a critical gap in financial inclusion, noting that only 4.5 percent of the country’s rural banks are connected to Instapay.

“The digital economy is not inclusive because it is growing. It is inclusive only when it reaches the market vendor in Maguindanao, the farmer cooperative in Ilocos,” he said.

On cross-border commerce, he cited Project Nexus — which links Philippine fast payment systems with those of India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand — as a concrete step toward borderless digital trade, with overseas Filipino workers remittances cited as a key use case.

During the event, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Maria Cristina Roque said the DEFA will be “transformative for ASEAN,” with the focus on reducing friction in digital trade, empowering micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to scale regionally, and ensuring innovation translates into inclusive economic growth.

“The Summit provides a critical venue to accelerate these outcomes,” Roque said.

She said at the DTI, the digital economy is seen as a powerful tool to help businesses and MSMEs improve market access, attract investments and create jobs.

To date, she said the Philippines ranks second or third in ASEAN in e-commerce.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is slated to deliver the opening keynote at the summit, set for July 28 to 29, 2026. (PNA)