The Philippines now has its first government-wide playbook for using AI responsibly — and it landed quietly in the middle of a summer packed with AI headlines.

The Weekly Headline: The Philippine Government Just Set Ground Rules for AI. Here’s What They Actually Say.

On June 9, 2026, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) quietly issued Joint Memorandum Circular No. 003, Series of 2026 — the country’s first principles-based framework for how government agencies should develop, deploy, and use AI. It’s not flashy. There’s no press conference footage of ribbon-cutting. But if you work in or around government, or you’re a vendor selling AI tools to government, this is the document that will shape your next few years.

What the circular actually covers

The JMC asks every covered government agency to align its AI activities with core principles: fairness, transparency, accountability, privacy, and security. Agencies are required to set up internal oversight — committees that actually review AI systems before and after they go live, not just a policy sitting in a drawer. And crucially, DICT and CSC have 90 days from the circular’s effectivity to issue implementing guidelines, which is where the real teeth will show up.

Why it matters beyond government offices

Here’s the part easy to miss: the circular’s reach doesn’t stop at government payrolls. Agencies are expected to hold their private-sector AI vendors to the same standards. If your startup sells an AI tool to any government office, this circular just became part of your compliance checklist, whether you’ve read it yet or not.

The bigger picture: a busy month for Philippine AI policy

This circular didn’t arrive in isolation. Just weeks later, DOST began directing regions to draft their own AI roadmaps, and the Pax Silica initiative — a joint Philippine-US push to build AI and semiconductor infrastructure in Clark, Tarlac — picked up momentum, with a framework deal possibly signing by November. Add government AI literacy programs that have already reached 1.8 million Filipinos, and a pattern emerges: 2026 is the year the Philippines stopped talking about AI policy and started writing it down.

What to watch next

The next 90 days matter more than the circular itself. Implementing guidelines will determine whether “accountability” and “transparency” are enforceable requirements or just words in a memo. That’s usually where AI ethics frameworks succeed or quietly fade — precisely the kind of gap that people like Doc Ligot, who advises on AI ethics and governance at a national level, spend their careers closing.

AI isn’t coming. It’s here.

A joint circular between two government agencies isn’t the kind of story that trends on social media. But it’s the kind of story that determines whether the AI systems touching public services in the Philippines are built with guardrails — or built in a hurry. Worth watching closely over the next quarter.

Further Reading:

• Philippines Launches Responsible AI Governance Framework — Baker McKenzie
• Framework for Ethical and Responsible AI Use in Government Issued — Quisumbing Torres
• DICT-CSC Leads JMC Consultation on AI Guidelines — ICT Knowledge Portal
• The Pax Silica Initiative — Manila Times

Curious how frameworks like this get put into practice — and where the gaps usually are? Doc Ligot, the featured speaker at AI Talks @ Younifest, works directly on AI ethics and governance for the Philippines and has upcoming webinars digging into exactly these questions. Details at aitalks.younifest.com.

About Doc Ligot:

Dominic “Doc” Ligot is one of the leading voices in AI in the Philippines. Doc has been extensively cited in local and global media outlets including The Economist, South China Morning Post, Washington Post, and Agence France Presse. His award-winning work has been recognized and published by prestigious organizations such as NASA, Data.org, Digital Public Goods Alliance, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF.

If you need guidance or training in maximizing AI for your career or business, reach out to Doc via https://docligot.com.

Follow Doc Ligot on Facebook: https://facebook.com/docligotAI