DICT, Google Cloud announce multi-year partnership to equip gov’t services with enterprise AI

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and Google Cloud announced on Tuesday an expanded multi-year partnership to integrate enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) into government services, making delivery simpler, faster, and more secure.

In a statement released Tuesday, it said the collaboration advances the government’s Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028. Through the “AI Agents for Public Sector” program and a cross-agency cyber defense alliance led by DICT with Google Cloud, the agency is helping the country transition to an AI-driven digital economy.

“DICT is accelerating ‘Digital Bayanihan’ with partners like Google Cloud, where AI-driven systems, proactive cyber defense, and network infrastructure operate in tandem to provide every citizen with access to public services and high-speed connectivity within a secure online environment,” DICT Secretary Henry Rhoel R. Aguda said in a statement.

“We’re empowering our public servants with world-class AI tools and upskilling programs to help reduce bureaucratic friction, optimize public sector productivity, and deliver seamless, next-generation services that better serve and uplift our people in every community,” he added.

Under the partnership’s “AI Agents for Public Sector” program, public servants will be given access to Google’s Gemini Enterprise and Google Workspace through the Procurement Service–Department of Budget and Management’s (PS-DBM) eMarketplace, the government’s centralized procurement platform for cloud and digital services.

The program aims to deploy AI agents that can assist in administrative and frontline functions, including processing permits, responding to citizen queries, and generating data-driven reports.

DICT said the initiative is designed to streamline bureaucratic processes by enabling natural language queries across government datasets and systems.

More than 50,000 public servants are expected to be onboarded initially, with plans to scale deployment to over 200,000 users within 18 months.

The AI tools will be integrated with productivity platforms such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 to enable real-time collaboration, document generation, and inter-agency coordination.

On cybersecurity, the DICT Cybersecurity Bureau has partnered with Google Cloud to establish a cross-agency cyber defense alliance anchored on the National Security Operations Center (NSOC).

The initiative includes the deployment of Google Cloud Cybershield, which combines AI-driven threat detection, security operations tools, and expertise from cybersecurity firm Mandiant.

Around 56 government agencies have already been onboarded, with a target of reaching 90 agencies by the end of June 2026.

The system is expected to enable centralized monitoring and faster response to cyber threats targeting government systems and critical infrastructure, including those supporting major national and regional events.

The partnership also complements ongoing efforts to strengthen the country’s digital connectivity infrastructure, including subsea cable systems such as the Taiwan-Philippines-US (TPU) cable and the Asia Pacific (Apricot) cable system, as well as domestic infrastructure under the Luzon Bypass Infrastructure (LBI) corridor.

DICT said the improved connectivity backbone is expected to support higher data demands from AI systems while expanding access to cloud services and enabling more digital jobs for Filipinos.

Google Cloud Philippines Country Manager Jennifer S. Ligones said the collaboration aims to “democratize the benefits of AI,” enabling public servants to complete complex tasks in shorter timeframes while expanding access to digital public services nationwide. — Edg Adrian A. Eva