Corruption and education are the top concerns of the country's top executives, represented by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), for 2025.

In his inaugural address, MAP president Alfredo S. Panlilio said, "We will certainly address the following top 7 concerns of MAP members for 2025, which were generated through a survey in the fourth quarter of last year: corruption, education, the economy, ease of doing business, climate change, cybersecurity, and dealing with local government units."

"To address corruption and ease of doing business, we will continue to participate actively in the programs of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA)," he noted.

Panlilio added that all seven concerns will be directly addressed by the four thrusts that MAP will pursue this year: member engagement, country competitiveness, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and shared prosperity, and investing in the youth.

"On country competitiveness, we will continue to push for vital policy reforms, through executive or legislative action, that will eliminate corruption, improve the ease of doing business, ensure food security through agricultural productivity, and sustain an enabling business environment for local and foreign investors," said Panlilio. "The aspiration is to attract greater and more diverse job-creating investments for more Filipinos to be gainfully employed."

Panlilio also said MAP will continue advancing environmental, social, and governance principles and fostering shared prosperity as a key strategic thrust for the year.

"By integrating sustainable practices, promoting ethical leadership, and driving inclusive growth, we aim to create long-term value for MAP members and all other stakeholders. We will continue pushing for discourse and activities to champion responsible business, uplift communities, and contribute to a resilient and equitable future for the Philippines," he said.

Panlilio said MAP will continue the Campaign Against Malnutrition and Child Stunting (CAMACS) and advocating for the government and the private sector to pursue relevant education, health, and wellness programs, particularly for the youth. The objective is for young people to become productive members of society, with competitive skills and capacity that will ensure a progressive economy for the future.

Meanwhile, guest speaker and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation Chairman and President Manuel V. Pangilinan focused on the promise and fear associated with the coming of the age of artificial intelligence (AI), pointing out that "AI is already changing the way we live."

"To all of us, AI is touted as this monumental technology that will forever alter the landscape of business. That is, in fact, true. AI will be impactful. For us frontliners in the technology battlefield, it is simply another big challenge," he noted.

Pangilinan assures that "AI, with its immense power, is not an existential threat; it is a tool. Together, they [humans and AI] form the scaffoldings of the next great cathedrals of progress. But scaffoldings alone do not build edifices. It is human creativity and ingenuity—the minds and hearts and hands of men and women—that ultimately are responsible for turning visions into grandiose creations—no matter the era."

However, Pangilinan said there are three factors that are slowing down the adoption of AI in the Philippines: data, talent and expertise, and infrastructure.

"For AI to work, companies need to feed their algorithms a vast cache of data, which must be complete, high quality, and available. Second: talent and expertise, probably the most scarce resources, because AI needs to be customized for particular business needs. Open-source solutions may not always work," he said.

"Third: infrastructure, robust data networks and hyperscaler data centers with humongous and ultra-fast computing capacities. PLDT is currently building, and planning to build, more hyperscaler data centers to handle AI," noted Pangilinan.