American multinational corporation and technology firm Google reaffirmed its commitment to helping build a Digital Philippines by sharing key updates about its ongoing efforts around digital skilling and digital infrastructure.

During the US Presidential and Trade Investment that started on Monday, Sapna Chadha, Vice President for Google Southeast Asia and South Asia Frontier, said that in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry, Google is rolling out more Google Career Certificates in DTI virtual campuses covering over 1,300 DTI Negosyo Centers in 16 regions nationwide.

This builds upon the 40,000 GCC scholarships Google previously distributed to equip Filipino youths, jobseekers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and civil servants with in-demand skills in project management, cybersecurity, IT support, data analytics, UX design and digital marketing.

Additionally, Google underlined that the TPU (Taiwan-Philippines-United States) subsea cable system that it announced in collaboration with regional carriers Chunghwa Telecom, Innove (a subsidiary of Globe Group), and AT&T in May 2023 is on track to be completed by the end of 2025. Subsea cables play an important role in helping meet the growing demand for digital and cloud-based services from users and organizations, as well as in bringing positive trade, investment, and productivity gains to a country.

With improved internet access, societies can continue to modernize — people acquire skills and knowledge that open doors to new job opportunities, while businesses and governments increase productivity as a result of digital transformation. In fact, a 2020 study found that Google’s network investments in the Philippines led to an extra $14 billion in aggregate GDP and supported 93,000 additional jobs.

“At Google, we recognize the Philippines' potential and we have invested actively in the country's digital development. This includes digital skills training and digital infrastructure improvements. Our commitment has yielded significant economic benefits for the Philippines with our network investments alone that boosted the GDP by U.S. $14 billion and created 93,000 jobs. These outcomes motivate us to further deepen our collaboration with the Philippines and our efforts as a partner in building a robust digital economy,” Chadha noted.

For his part, Secretary Frederick D. Go of the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs thanked Google for its continued investments in the Philippines, encompassing both digital skilling and digital infrastructure.

“These contributions will undoubtedly fuel our nation's expanding digital economy. We anticipate that this marks the start of a more fruitful collaboration, and we look forward to partnering closely with Google in the realization of a Digital Philippines,” according to Go.