DICT, Google Cloud Expand AI Partnership to Modernize PH Public Services

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and Google Cloud have announced an expanded multi-year collaboration that aims to bring enterprise artificial intelligence into government services across the Philippines. The initiative focuses on making public services simpler, faster, and more secure while supporting the country’s ongoing digital transformation and improving how Filipinos interact with government agencies.

Why it Matters: The use of AI in government has the potential to reduce bureaucracy, improve access to information, and strengthen cybersecurity across public institutions. As more services move online, the partnership also aims to ensure that both citizens and government workers benefit from modern digital tools while maintaining security and reliability.

According to DICT Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda, digital transformation goes beyond adopting new software and should instead create lasting improvements across government institutions. He said the collaboration with Google Cloud supports the agency’s “Digital Bayanihan” vision, where AI systems, cybersecurity, and connectivity infrastructure work together to provide accessible and secure government services for every Filipino.

One of the biggest components of the partnership is the launch of the “AI Agents for Public Sector” program. Through the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management’s eMarketplace platform, government agencies can now access Gemini Enterprise and Google Workspace. The eMarketplace, introduced during the first quarter of 2026, serves as the government’s official platform for procuring enterprise cloud and AI services in a more transparent and streamlined manner.

DICT plans to use the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform to develop AI agents capable of assisting citizens with common government concerns. Instead of navigating lengthy documents or complicated procedures, Filipinos could eventually ask questions through voice or text in local languages and receive immediate answers. Potential use cases include learning how to register a new micro-business, checking schedules at community health centers, or understanding disaster relief assistance guidelines.

The department also plans to equip more than 50,000 public servants with the Gemini Enterprise application as an initial rollout. The platform allows employees to discover, create, and use AI agents within a secure environment while accessing information from multiple government data sources.

For example, a city building official could simply ask the system to retrieve all pending building permit applications submitted within the past month for a specific barangay. Instead of manually searching different databases, the AI can gather and organize the relevant information, allowing government employees to make faster decisions.

Economic analysts may also benefit from the technology by assigning AI agents to continuously monitor agricultural fertilizer prices, identify supply chain anomalies, and generate reports complete with supporting references. The system can review verified online resources alongside secured internal archives before producing recommendations for human review.

Google Workspace integration further extends these capabilities by allowing AI-generated research, charts, or reports to be instantly converted into collaborative Google Docs files, presentation decks in Google Slides, or communications through Gmail and Google Chat. The goal is to improve collaboration and reduce repetitive administrative tasks across government offices.

Over the next 18 months, DICT intends to expand access to Gemini Enterprise and Google Workspace to more than 200,000 public servants. The agency will monitor adoption rates, productivity improvements, cost savings, and user satisfaction to measure the effectiveness of the initiative.

Beyond AI adoption, the partnership also strengthens the country’s cybersecurity efforts through a cross-agency cyber defense alliance led by the DICT Cybersecurity Bureau with support from Google Cloud.

At the National Security Operations Center, Google Cloud Cybershield has been deployed to provide AI-assisted threat detection, intelligence-driven security operations, and support from Mandiant cybersecurity experts. Security teams from 56 government agencies have already been onboarded and trained, with the number expected to increase to 90 agencies by the end of June 2026.

The centralized approach enables participating agencies to monitor security events more efficiently while coordinating responses to evolving cyber threats that target government systems and critical national infrastructure. The same security framework is also being used to protect the digital operations supporting the ASEAN Summits hosted by the Philippines from April through November 2026.

Google Cloud Philippines Country Manager Jennifer Ligones said the collaboration is intended to make AI benefits accessible to more Filipinos by transforming global innovations into localized and conversational public services. She added that enterprise AI and high-speed data infrastructure can help create new employment opportunities, protect national infrastructure, and strengthen the country’s position as a growing digital economy in the Asia-Pacific region.

The collaboration also supports DICT’s National Digital Connectivity Plan through improvements in national network infrastructure. Google and its Pacific Connect initiative partners are extending the Taiwan-Philippines-U.S. subsea cable system, which uses next-generation multicore fiber technology designed to support the high-bandwidth data requirements of AI services while delivering greater capacity at lower costs.

Alongside the TPU system, the Apricot subsea cable provides an additional international route that improves network redundancy and helps maintain access to global cloud and AI services. Combined with local terrestrial networks and the DICT-managed Luzon Bypass Infrastructure corridor, these investments are expected to reduce network bottlenecks and support the expansion of Free Wi-Fi for All sites in schools, hospitals, and community centers across the country.

As DICT and Google Cloud continue expanding their partnership, the initiative represents one of the Philippine government’s largest AI adoption programs to date, combining artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and connectivity upgrades into a unified effort aimed at modernizing public service delivery. Will these investments help create a more efficient and accessible digital government experience for every Filipino?