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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DOST to establish AI hub at UST

DOST to establish AI hub at UST

Published Aug 28, 2025 02:47 pm

At A Glance

  • The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will establish an Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila as part of its nationwide effort to develop and explore the use of AI.
​The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will establish an Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila as part of its nationwide effort to develop and explore the use of AI.
During the House Committee on Appropriations budget hearing on Wednesday, Aug. 27, DOST Secretary Renato Solidum said the agency allotted more than P260 million for the said program.
He said the initiative will be "a service for our MSMEs industries", but did not elaborate.
"That's the initial. But we have a list of projects that we have prepared because the President instructed us to develop an AI center in the UST, where we already have advanced many of the projects," he said.
Solidum's update came after FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-list Rep. Brian Poe Llamanzares inquired about the agency's plan on AI development as the latter expressed the lower chamber's readiness to support it.
Enrico Paringit, DOST's Executive Director of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD), said the agency will need a total of P9.7 billion for the development of its programs that will run for 10 years starting 2025.
"We are already conducting a big AI program, specifically to decentralize and further democratize access," Paringit said.
"In terms of talent and ingenuity, we already have that, and we have proven that many times. The problem is that it's so concentrated in the urban centers. So we want to push that opportunity to the region. So that's what we are starting currently," he added.
Meanwhile, Solidum said that the Philippines now only ranks 56th in terms of AI development globally.
He shared such information as Llamanzares inquired "whether or not we're falling behind as compared to our neighbors here in the ASEAN region". The solon said the government wants "to be proactive in addressing this change in industry".
Solidum said there remain areas for improvement, particularly on the technology production side, where "We scored lower."
"This is really from the perspective of what the private sector is doing in terms of technologies being produced related to AI," he said, adding that efforts are now being made through upskilling and reskilling of employees within the private sector.
"And that is part of the national AI strategy to look into how we can shift the focus of current employees to really maximize the use of AI in the private sector as well on the side of the UST, we will continue developing and funding R&D (research and development) projects on the application of AI," he added.
Founded in 1611, UST is one of the world's oldest universities and is one of the world's largest Catholic universities in terms of enrollment found on one campus.
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