07/08/2025
‘𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲’: 𝗣𝗖𝗖𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹-𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁
Digital transformation will fail without teamwork—this was the message of Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Chairperson George T. Barcelon, who called on the private sector to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with government in modernizing the country's economy.
"Government cannot do it alone," Barcelon said. "𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀."
Barcelon’s message hits at the heart of the Philippines’ push toward digitalization: it cannot succeed without everyone—government, private companies, and the public—working together. His remarks came during the Sponsors Launchpad of the 51st Philippine Business Conference and Expo , where business leaders, policymakers, and tech innovators gathered to lay out a shared vision for a fully connected and digitally empowered country.
𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩-𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦
The PBC&E, set to take place this October, is shaping up to be more than just a conference. It is being positioned as a rallying point for collective action—a space where government and industry come together to hammer out real solutions that can fast-track digital progress across the country.
Dennis Anthony H. Uy, chairperson of this year’s PBC&E and CEO of Converge ICT Solutions Inc., made it clear that he took on the role to push this very goal.
“𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗕𝗖&𝗘 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆,” Uy said. “𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱.”
Uy also revealed that he is actively working with government agencies to help shape the country’s 𝗔𝗜 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸—a roadmap that could determine how the Philippines harnesses artificial intelligence in the coming years.
𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩
The private sector’s momentum comes as the government intensifies its own digital drive. After President Marcos declared internet connectivity a national priority in his SONA, DICT Secretary Henry Aguda quickly reached out to the 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸 to kick off 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟮 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁—which will roll out 𝟭,𝟴𝟬𝟬 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 to underserved areas, including Cagayan Valley, CALABARZON, Bicol, Eastern Visayas, and Mindanao, by 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟴.
“𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁’𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿—𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀,” Aguda said, expressing confidence the country can lead in 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 in Southeast Asia.
Trade Secretary Cristina Roque backed the call for collaboration, urging businesses to go digital and tap into e-commerce, saying, “𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲’𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.”
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘖𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳: 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘉𝘊&𝘌
Slated for October 20–21 at the SMX Convention and Exhibition Center, the 51st PBC&E will bring together the country’s most influential voices in tech and business.
With the theme “𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘄: 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻,” the two-day event will feature:
➡️ 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 from leading local and international companies
➡️ 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 for businesses of all sizes
➡️ 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀, including DTI, DICT, and DOST
➡️ 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 between the public and private sectors
Uy encouraged all players in the tech ecosystem—𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘀, 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀—to join forces with government to turn vision into action.
“𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿’𝘀 𝗣𝗕𝗖&𝗘, 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿,” he said. “𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄.”
📷 PCCI
