The ratings agency Moody’s said in a webinar on August 31, 2026, that the Philippines’ economic growth is slowing down. Specifically, it lags the growth of other ASEAN nations such as Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. According to analysts at the agency, this is correlated to the Philippines’ slow adoption of Artificial Intelligence, weak domestic demand, sluggish investment, and political uncertainty. Furthermore, Sarah Tan—an economist at Moody’s—stated that Philippines’ role in the technology sector also played a role in its lack of competitiveness.
AI Adoption Behind Peers
Though the Philippines is gaining AI and data center investment, it has not received the same ‘boost’ as other ASEAN nations. AI and data center projects have been an increasingly relevant part of economies, especially with the scalability of such technologies vis-a-vis the demand for streamlining of processes, data security and operations integration, among others. In the local context, this has spurred conferences, think tanks and councils on Artificial Intelligence adoption—an upcoming event in October being a summit where lead innovators will discuss growth, integration, ideas, case studies and products; and in attendance will be more than 200 tech leaders, regulatory officials, and business executives from key industries.
Thus, this is not to say that the Philippines is not proactive when it comes to its recognition of AI as a crucial tool in boosting the economy; rather, it still lags. ST Telemedia Global Data Centers, an organization, in its analysis, finds that while 79% of organizations have entered the “builder” stage of AI adoption—the stage wherein the frameworks are in progress, or pre-integration—only 2% have progressed to the “Integrator” stage—wherein AI has manifested in key processes.
There is a key gap in figures for AI integrators and innovators within organizations as well. 76% of organizations report gaps in talent that advance and integrate AI into their respective processes. 94% of organizations report a culture of skepticism towards AI adoption. This is to say that the Philippines exists in a place where its Artificial Intelligence adoption is truly lacking—compared to its peers, compared to the rest of the globe.
Technology Sector: Roles We Take Are Not Big Ticket
The technology sector has seen a lot of foreign and local cash inflows towards funding projects. There are big ticket projects like Pax Silica and semi-conductor manufacturing hubs. However, the majority of projects focus on the back-end assembly and testing of technology—assembly of foreign-designed chips, Quality Assurance of software and hardware, and so on. These ventures do put the Philippines as a player in the technology sector, but it misses out on larger opportunities such as full ownership of its own technology. Take Taiwan, where its semi-conductor manufacturing is also bolstered by its own research and proprietary intellectual property. Or Singapore, where its policies shift towards grabbing high value stages of the technology process accompanied by aggressive hiring of top talent.
Political Uncertainty, Energy Crisis, Exposure Slow Down Growth
Foreign investors have also flocked towards safer bets amidst the volatility of the global market. With the Middle East crisis still ongoing, a key example is the winding down of ‘hot money’ inflows; investors are gravitating more towards stability. This comes at a time where the internal climate has also worried both local and foreign individuals: the impeachment trial of the Vice President, the shaky policy making of Congress and the Senate, and the lack of international partnerships in crucial areas.
Moreover, it is in the Philippines’ exposure to global economic factors that have shied away economic growth. Fuel prices have remained higher than in other ASEAN regions due to the country’s reliance on Middle Eastern oil as well as its lack of oil reserves. Policies to address this have been incomplete—and motorists, energy companies, car manufacturers, and the public (the commuters, the households and the everyman) are all experiencing lower purchasing power. Increases in energy prices have affected the savings of Filipinos; in turn, this has lowered the available cash leftover for other commodities—or luxuries.
All Factors Combine: What to Prioritize?
All these factors combine as a hurdle for the Philippines. These ‘lagging problems’ forces the country to confront the juggling of several priorities. To fix the political climate, to shift the technology sector, to lower energy prices, or to integrate Artificial Intelligence.
DOPAY Enhances Service Efficiency Through AI
DOPAY integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its customer onboarding and support processes to enhance efficiency and responsiveness while maintaining strict compliance and risk management controls.
For the customer onboarding, AI is utilized as an additional verification and quality control tool to cross-check the information provided by our customers against the supporting documents they submit. This helps identify potential inconsistencies, missing information, or gaps at an early stage and backs up a more efficient review and evaluation process. However, AI assisted verification does not replace DOPAY’s standards on implementing customer due diligence procedures. All customers are still subject to preliminary account screening, evaluate based on the customer’s risk profile, and perform Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD). Proper monitoring is maintained to safeguard onboarding decisions made in accordance with applicable regulations.
DOPAY also utilizes AI to assist in responding to customer inquiries. The technology helps deliver timely and consistent responses to frequently asked questions, guide customers through basic processes, and address issues promptly. This allows DOPAY to enhance customer experience and lessen response times while ensuring that complex issues are escalated to the appropriate officer or department for proper review, evaluation, and resolution.
The use of AI is structured to support than totally replacing the human process on DOPAY’s operational, compliance, and customer service controls. DOPAY remains to implement standard safeguards such as human oversight, information validation, risk-based screening, escalation procedures, and monitoring, to secure that the use of AI supports secure, reliable, and responsible customer onboarding and service delivery.
The DOPAY application is available for download now through iOS and Android.
For those who seek financial literacy, we also offer the DOPAY Academy. With a broad coverage of material from basic concepts of money to higher-level discussions on cryptocurrency analysis, the Academy is a library of knowledge-enriching platform that is (1) accessible to all; (2) easy to pace—the difficulty is progressive; and (3) is free-of-charge.
Combining the use of DOPAY and reading through DOPAY Academy is—as we aim for—a strong catalyst for financial enablement. We also offer up-to-date news analyses and insights on the latest scoop ranging from finance to government, allowing readers to become more informed of the ever-evolving landscape of money and governance.
For the referrers who seek to gainfully help others, we offer the DOPAY referral program. Referrers can earn 70 pesos in ETH per person successfully referred; referred users can earn 30 pesos in ETH upon the satisfaction of conditions. Read more here: Referral Program Page – DOPAY
For the content creators who seek exposure, we offer up to 3,000 pesos in ETH for video content that highlights our benefits. Be rewarded by spreading the word, and learn more here: Video Affiliate Program – DOPAY
DOPAY is an innovation-driven, inclusivity-first company that constantly strives to serve the Filipino. Download DOPAY now and see what it can do for you.
