Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda on Thursday, Nov. 20, warned that the Philippines is facing a “survival issue” in the digital landscape, as the country’s digital economy continues to shrink and cyber threats escalate across the Indo-Pacific.

Speaking at the opening of the Pilipinas Conference 2025 organized by the Stratbase Institute and the Embassy of Japan, Aguda said the Philippines can no longer afford stagnation in its digital transformation efforts.

“Digital disruption is not a theory. It is a survival issue, hand in hand with cybersecurity,” Aguda said.

Citing official data, he pointed to the continued decline of the digital economy, which fell to 8.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024.

“This is unacceptable. This is not merely about percentages. It is about people,” he stated.

The DICT chief said the government is accelerating its digital strategy by expanding infrastructure, pushing wider digital adoption, and strengthening governance frameworks to respond to emerging risks.

He urged both government agencies and the private sector to act collectively, saying the country needs to break out of stagnation.

“We are aiming… for hyper-exponential growth,” he said. “Some say it’s impossible. To them I say, watch us work.”

For his part, Japanese Ambassador H.E. Endo Kazuya, one of the keynote speakers, said cyberspace has become “an indispensable social infrastructure” but is facing rapidly escalating threats.

Japan’s monitoring data, he noted, showed cyberattack-related communications jumping from 63 billion packets in 2015 to 686 billion in 2024.

“No single nation can address threats in cyberspace alone. International cooperation is indispensable,” Kazuya said, reaffirming Japan’s support for the Philippines and ASEAN through capacity-building initiatives.