Marcos sees Philippines attracting more tech investments

Marcos sees Philippines attracting more tech investments

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos yesterday expressed optimism that the Philippines would become more attractive to technology investments as he led the ceremonial lighting up of an undersea fiber optic backbone network infrastructure designed to provide inclusive internet connectivity across the country.

The Philippine Domestic Submarine Cable Network (PDSCN) spans more than 2,500 kilometers linking the islands of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao with touch points in 21 provinces, including Quezon up to Zamboanga.

Initiated by InfiniVAN, the local affiliate of Japanese telecommunications giant IPS Inc. and its partners Globe Telecom and Eastern Telecommunications, the project is now the longest and highest capacity domestic submarine fiber cable network in the country, according to Marcos.

“With this project, we will be able to better position our country as an even more attractive destination for technology-centric businesses such as hyperscale data centers and AI computing,” Marcos said during the lighting up ceremony held in Makati.

“We will also be able to provide faster internet (and) more efficient digital services to Filipinos located in both urban and rural areas of the country. More importantly, this will help facilitate our efforts to digitalize public data and government services to cater to the needs of our people efficiently,” he added.

Marcos described the project as a “game changer in the Philippines’ quest to be amongst equals in terms of internet interconnectivity and digital transformation.”

“Because of this connection, we now find a long-term solution that delivers high-connectivity and high-speed internet for our people and facilitates the realization of the Bagong Pilipinas (new Philippines) that we envision for our country,” the President said.

“With the completion of the PDSCN, let me express our excitement and our optimism as we zoom in on faster fiber internet speeds for Filipinos.”

Marcos thanked the companies behind the PDSCN for choosing to do business in the Philippines and for making possible the high technology transfer that he said would allow the country to be at par with its more advanced peers in the technology-driven global marketplace.

“I look forward to further collaboration and partnership in different endeavors where we could gain from your experience and your expertise. We are excited to see your many investments that will come to fruition in the near future,” he said.

Marcos vowed to support public-private sector investment and to promote ease of doing business in the country to facilitate the establishment of critical infrastructure in telecommunications. He added that the project is a testament to Japanese ingenuity and technological advancement that the Philippines aims to emulate and the “strong bonds” of friendship that connect the two countries forever.

“With the help of our private sector partners, we continue to pursue measures towards providing the Filipino people with reliable and affordable internet services, which will enable us to improve our standing in the world in terms of broadband and mobile internet speed and coverage,” the Chief Executive said.