President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday presided over the ceremonial presentation of the signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the Philippine Civil Service Digital Leadership Program (DLP), an initiative aimed at modernizing the Philippine bureaucracy through technology and innovation.

Held at the President’s Hall in Malacañan Palace, the ceremony marked the formal launch of a training program designed to empower thousands of civil servants with digital skills to lead transformative reforms in government.

“This collaboration brings us closer to realizing our shared aspiration of building a modernized public sector workforce,” President Marcos declared in his speech. “It is an opportunity for us to rethink, to innovate, and serve our people better through technology.”

Digital transformation
The program is spearheaded by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in collaboration with the National University of Singapore’s Institute of Systems Science (NUS-ISS) and the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) through the Private Sector Jobs and Skills Corporation (PCORP).

The Digital Leadership Program (DLP), supported by funding from the Temasek Foundation, as well as Philippine conglomerates Ayala Group and SM Group, aims to strengthen digital competencies among mid- to senior-level officials across the bureaucracy.

According to the CSC, the initiative will build a cadre of “digital champions” within government who can lead data-driven decision-making, citizen-centric service delivery, and strategic tech reforms from within their respective agencies.

The initiative was first proposed by the PSAC’s Digital Infrastructure sector in June 2023. Last February, the collaboration culminated in the signing of a memorandum of agreement between government and private sector partners.

The President said Phase 2 of the DLP will span until 2027 and is expected to train at least 10,000 civil servants, equipping them with the tools and mindset needed for sustained digital transformation in government.