Marcos Jr. urges ASEAN leaders: ‘Invest in robust cybersecurity protections’

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Marcos Jr. urges ASEAN leaders: ‘Invest in robust cybersecurity protections’

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos during the opening ceremony of 44th and 45th ASEAN Summit in Lao PDR. Revoli S. Cortez, PPA PoolPresident Ferdinand Marcos Jr and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos during the opening ceremony of 44th and 45th ASEAN Summit in Lao PDR. Revoli S. Cortez, PPA PoolVIENTIANE — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday urged other Southeast Asian leaders to “invest in robust cybersecurity protections,” to secure the region’s path to becoming the fourth largest economy in the world.

The digital economy is one of the region’s “significant catalysts for connectivity,” the Philippine President said during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plenary session here.

“We must continue to deepen our connectivity and fortify our resilience to ensure that we are prepared for emerging challenges and for future shocks,” he said.

“It is critical that we invest in robust cybersecurity protections, equip our people with digital skills, and build the digital infrastructure necessary to secure ASEAN’s path to becoming  the fourth largest economy in the world,” he said

“We should lay the groundwork for a safe and trusted digital environment that can propel ASEAN into a new era of innovation, growth and opportunity,” he said.

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Last month, a study from anti-scam app Whoscall showed that number of scam calls and messages in the Philippines grew by 200 percent during the first eight months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

Of the 3,032,626 text scams and 320,978 scam calls included in the study, a quarter duped people into registering on phishing sites, 18 percent offered fake gift card promotions, while the rest were unauthorized downloads and investment scams, among others.

Public and private firms in the Philippines have also figured in hacking operations, with a former data security officer confessing to illegally tampering with around 93 websites.

The regional bloc earlier drafted the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) to boost Southeast Asia’s digital economy to around $2 trillion, and ensure that the region would push towards digitalization.

Developing the digital economy will also benefit some 70 million micro, small and medium enterprises in Southeast Asia, which makes up for 99 percent of all businesses in the region, Marcos Jr. said.

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“These enterprises are the backbone of our economies,” the Filipino leader said.

“Addressing financing gaps, supporting digitalization, and enhancing the capacities of MSMEs that will enable our MSMEs to integrate into global value chains and become key drivers of regional growth,” he said.

The Philippines has been holding conventions to teach MSMEs digital skills to help promote their brand, said Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion.

“Without Grab, Tiktok, Lazada, MSMEs will have little access to consumers. It is very important,” Concepcion told reporters in a separate interview.

“If you are creative, you are innovative, you will be able to sell the message of your product or service, definitely social media will carry it forward depending on how creative you are,” he said.

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Meantime, Marcos Jr. also encouraged Southeast Asian leaders to “adopt sustainable agricultural practices to optimize our food systems” in the midst of “supply chain disruptions, economic shocks, and the increasing intensity of extreme weather events such as El Niño and La Niña.”

“We must support efforts that empower and support our farming communities and leverage agricultural technological innovations,” he said.

“While connectivity strengthens the bonds that bind our Community, resilience ensures that ASEAN can endure and adapt to the challenges that may arise,” he said.

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