Copying the EU AI Act Would Be a Disaster for the Philippines
And yet, some
policymakers are now considering using the European Union’s AI Act as a
template for Philippine legislation. If adopted wholesale, this would represent
not just a poor fit, but a direct threat to the country’s economic engine,
workforce competitiveness, and future digital development. AI is not GDPR. It
is not cybercrime law. It is deeply intertwined with economic structure, and on
this front, the Philippines and the EU could not be more different.
A Ten-Fold Economic Gap That No Policy Can Ignore
The EU AI Act was
built for a region with a GDP per capita of around $40,000. The Philippines,
meanwhile, sits under $4,100. This gap is not merely academic, it defines
regulatory capacity, compliance burden tolerance, and the economic elasticity
required to absorb new rules.
The EU can impose
€29,000–€52,000 annual compliance costs per high-risk AI system because its
companies operate in high-margin, capital-intensive sectors. In contrast,
Philippine companies, especially the BPOs and micro-enterprises that power the
digital economy, operate on thin margins. The research shows that certification
alone could cost €16,800–€23,000 per AI system, and that building a
compliance-grade Quality Management System could demand over €300,000 upfront.
For Philippine SMEs, this is not regulation, it is extinction.
Even the country’s
national AI investments illustrate the mismatch. The Philippine government has
allocated PHP 2.6 billion (~$44M) for AI projects through 2028. That entire
seven-year budget is equivalent to the compliance cost of fewer than 200
high-risk EU-regulated AI systems. The math simply does not work.
The Core of the Philippine Economy Would Be Hit Hardest
Three workforce
pillars, BPO employees, OFWs, and freelancers, collectively generate over $76
billion a year. This is the bedrock of the Philippine economy. And these
workers would be disproportionately harmed by EU-style AI regulation.
BPOs, which generate $38 billion and employ 1.8
million Filipinos, face an automation risk of nearly 90%. Adding EU-level
compliance obligations, risk assessments, documentation, technical audits, would
push global clients to simpler, cheaper jurisdictions. Why outsource to the
Philippines if AI-assisted customer service triggers European regulatory
requirements? Rational firms would either move to countries with lighter rules
or automate away Filipino labor entirely.
OFWs, who send home $38.3 billion annually, would
also be collateral damage. Strict domestic rules on AI-based education,
credentialing, and training could make Filipino workers appear “over-regulated”
or administratively complex for foreign employers. In rapidly AI-augmenting
fields like healthcare, Philippine workers could lose competitiveness simply
because their country imposed rules divorced from global labor markets.
Freelancers, the fastest-growing segment of the
workforce, would be devastated. Individual digital workers cannot shoulder
€30,000 compliance requirements for basic AI-assisted tools like content
generators, CRM systems, or project managers. Clients seeking cost-effective
digital labor would quickly turn to competitors in India, Vietnam, or Pakistan.
The gig economy, where nearly 10 million Filipinos participate, would be priced
out of global markets.
The Philippines Is an AI Adopter, Not a Frontier AI Developer
The EU AI Act is
designed for a region that builds AI systems, including frontier models with
systemic risk. Europe hosts Mistral, Aleph Alpha, DeepMind, and dozens of
advanced R&D labs. These regulators are governing their own capabilities.
The Philippines has no
such ecosystem. It is not training billion-parameter models. It is not
exporting AI systems. It is fundamentally a user, an adopter, of technologies
created elsewhere. Imposing frontier-AI regulations on an adopting country is
like requiring every fishing boat to meet the safety standards of an aircraft
carrier.
It is unnecessary,
expensive, and misaligned with national capabilities.
The Country’s Competitive Edge Is Human Capital, Not AI
Manufacturing
The EU’s economic
model is product-based. It builds AI systems and exports them.
The Philippines’ model
is service-based. It exports talent.
What the Philippines
needs is AI regulation that enhances SKILLS, not compliance costs; that boosts
digital competitiveness, not bureaucratic hurdles; and that strengthens the
agility of BPOs, OFWs, and freelancers.
Copying the EU AI Act
would do the opposite. It would burden Filipino workers with rules written for
companies like Siemens and Airbus, not for a Cebu call center or a Cavite
medical assistant preparing for overseas deployment.
A Better Path Exists, One Built for ASEAN, Not Brussels
The Philippines should
lean into ASEAN-style principles-based regulation and look to Singapore’s Model
AI Governance Framework, which emphasizes flexibility, innovation, and
proportionate safeguards. Even Singapore, far more advanced in AI readiness, chose not to
hard-regulate AI like the EU.
If Singapore won’t
copy the EU AI Act, why should the Philippines?
Leadership Means Choosing What Fits, Not What Impresses
The desire to adopt
the EU AI Act stems from good intentions: to show global leadership and align
with international standards. But leadership requires strategic coherence, not
regulatory mimicry.
With millions of
Filipino livelihoods at stake, the Philippines must design AI rules that
protect jobs, expand opportunities, and reflect the country’s true economic
structure. Copying Brussels will not do that. Charting an independent course
will.
The Philippines must
choose wisely. The future of its workforce, and its competitiveness in an
AI-driven world, depends on it.
About Me:
Dominic “Doc” Ligot is
one of the leading voices in AI in the Philippines. Doc has been extensively
cited in local and global media outlets including The Economist, South China
Morning Post, Washington Post, and Agence France Presse. His award-winning work
has been recognized and published by prestigious organizations such as NASA,
Data.org, Digital Public Goods Alliance, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO),
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization
(WHO), and UNICEF.
If you need guidance
or training in maximizing AI for your career or business, reach out to Doc via https://docligot.com.
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