USABC and ASEAN-BAC Philippines Advance AI for Health Agenda Under 2026 ASEAN Chairship

(March 4, Pasig City, Philippines) The US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council Philippines (ASEAN-BAC Philippines) today convened senior government officials, development partners, and industry leaders in Pasig City for a high-level roundtable on Healthcare, advancing the Philippines’ priorities for its 2026 ASEAN Chairship.

The roundtable addressed ASEAN's accelerating shift toward chronic disease burdens and the transformative potential of digital health and AI, with USABC's proposals aligned with the Philippines’ Priority Economic Deliverable 13, which seeks to harness AI to strengthen regional health systems, improve data governance, and accelerate preventive care models across ASEAN. Dr. The dialogue featured expert insights from Dr. Denese De Guzman, Health Data and Performance Metrics Expert at the Asian Development Bank. Government perspectives were shared by Secretary Henry Rhoel R. Aguda of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Director-General Paolo S. Teston of the Food and Drug Administration, senior officials from the Department of Health and other agencies, reflecting a whole-of-government approach to digital health transformation.

“ASEAN’s healthcare systems are at a strategic inflection point,” said Third Bagro, USABC’s Philippines Chief Representative. “By aligning private sector innovation with the Philippines’ Chairship priorities, we can accelerate digital health adoption, strengthen regulatory readiness, and ensure that AI delivers measurable outcomes for patients across the region.”

“Healthcare resilience and digital innovation are no longer optional—they are foundational to ASEAN’s long-term competitiveness,” said Gil L. Gonzales, Senior Adviser of ASEAN-BAC Philippines. “This roundtable series is about translating Chairship ambition into implementable solutions, ensuring that business and government move in step toward a more integrated and future-ready ASEAN.”

With two roundtables completed—on Sustainability and Food Security and now Healthcare—the series continues in the coming weeks with sessions on Sustainable Supply Chains and Logistics, Digital Economy and Workforce Development, and Artificial Intelligence. Together, these dialogues are shaping a coherent private sector agenda designed to support the Philippines’ 2026 ASEAN Chairship and reinforce ASEAN’s competitiveness in a rapidly evolving global landscape.