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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Trade & Industry devider PEZA, partners to open AI tech academy in Cebu

PEZA, partners to open AI tech academy in Cebu

Published Nov 3, 2025 12:00 am  |  Updated Nov 3, 2025 10:49 am
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is set to open an artificial intelligence (AI) training academy in Cebu to equip ecozone workers and entrepreneurs with the skills to excel in the digital space.
PEZA Director General Tereso Panga said the facility, scheduled to open on Nov. 17, will be the first AI-focused training center to rise in Southeast Asia.
The AI Tech Academy is being pioneered by IT training firm StackTrek, with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as another government partner.
Panga said StackTrek attempted to build similar facilities in other countries, but it was the Philippine government that first responded to its proposal and offered support to establish the academy.
“Using the AI training framework, I think it's a pioneering initiative by the Philippine government in Southeast Asia,” he said in a chance interview last week.
Under the initiative, PEZA was tasked to mobilize stakeholders to support the facility through equipment donations.
TESDA, meanwhile, will provide training grants for those who will undergo AI training.
PEZA Deputy Director General Maria Magsino earlier said that the facility would train both ecozone workers and businesses with essential digital skills such as generative AI, prompting, and other strategic applications.
“We deliberately invest in people because we believe that the true measure of competitiveness is not only in incentives or in infrastructure, but in the skills and resilience of our workforce,” said Magsino.
Panga said the AI Tech Academy in Cebu is expected to host more than 2,000 trainees.
Beyond Cebu, Panga noted that PEZA’s headquarters in Pasay City is also willing to host a similar facility.
With the growing popularity of AI, he said the government’s strategy is to build these physical training academies across the country.
There are also plans to establish online training programs for AI to complement these efforts, he said.
The PEZA is intent on harnessing AI to prepare the country’s ecozones for the next generation, thereby attracting more investments in the process.
Investment pledges approved by PEZA grew by 42 percent to ₱175.37 billion from January to October compared to ₱123.76 billion in the same period last year.
PEZA has reached 70 percent of its investment target this year of ₱250 billion.
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