By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos | Philippine News Agency
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday visited the largest data center of fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions in Angeles City, Pampanga, an artificial intelligence or AI-ready facility designed to support the growing demand for content and cloud services.
President Marcos Jr., accompanied by Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda, inspected the facility, which supports the government’s data sovereignty agenda.
The visit followed the issuance of Executive Order 119, which updates the Government Data Classification Framework and establishes unified rules on data classification, data residency, and cross-border data transfers.
The order seeks to strengthen cybersecurity by providing a framework for protecting classified government information, safeguarding national security, upholding data sovereignty, and supporting secure digital transformation.
Converge Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Dennis Anthony Uy said the Angeles City data center would allow government agencies to migrate systems from costly foreign-hosted servers to a secure facility operated within Philippine territory.
Uy said keeping government data locally hosted would help reduce cybersecurity risks, ensure service continuity during global Internet disruptions, and keep critical citizen records under the jurisdiction of Philippine courts.
“Securing our government data locally is a crucial milestone, but the next frontier is ensuring our national infrastructure is AI-capable,” Uy said.
“Converge will continue to upgrade and scale our facilities to support high-density, AI-driven workloads, strengthening the country’s readiness for AI adoption and regional digital growth.”
Sec. Aguda emphasized the importance of protecting critical government information while keeping the Philippines open to innovation, cloud technologies, and global digital partnerships.
Built on a 5,000-square-meter site, the Angeles data center has a capacity of 12 megawatts and is equipped with built-in redundancy to support resilient operations.
The facility was designed to meet the country’s data residency requirements and handle high-performance computing workloads, particularly for AI and machine learning applications, strengthening the Philippines’ role in the global digital ecosystem.
First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos led the launch of the data center in March with Uy and other government officials.
The Angeles Data Center is the latest addition to Converge’s facilities, complementing existing sites in Clark, Pampanga, and Pasig and Caloocan cities.
The facility is part of Converge’s broader digital infrastructure strategy, which includes its fiber backbone, satellite network, subsea cable systems, and cable landing stations.
