DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION | Google commits to continue support towards a Digital Philippines

March 14, 2024 , 08:33 PM

By Von Belinario

US Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo led Washington’s Presidential trade delegation in the Philippines which was recently held in Manila.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomed the US Department of Commerce Secretary and the Presidential Trade and Investment Mission (PTIM) delegates in Malacañang on Monday, before he left for Germany and Czech Republic.

Sec. Raimondo was joined by some American companies to discuss and share investment and business in the country for sectors like infrastructure, energy & information and communications technology as well as in digital infrastructure or digital skilling.

As part of the 22 high-level companies and executives, Google, represented by Sapna Chadha, Vice President for Google Southeast Asia and South Asia Frontier reaffirmed its commitment to helping build a Digital Philippines by sharing key updates about its ongoing efforts around digital skilling and digital infrastructure.

In partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Google emphasized that it is rolling out more Google Career Certificates (GCC) in DTI virtual campuses covering over 1,300 DTI Negosyo Centers in 16 regions nationwide. This builds upon the 40,000 GCC scholarships Google previously distributed to equip Filipino youths, jobseekers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, and civil servants with in-demand skills in project management, cyber security, IT support, data analytics, UX design and digital marketing.

Additionally, Google underlined that the TPU (Taiwan-Philippines-United States) subsea cable system that it announced in collaboration with regional carriers Chunghwa Telecom, Innove (a subsidiary of Globe Group), and AT&T in May 2023 is on track to be completed by the end of 2025. Subsea cables play an important role in helping meet the growing demand for digital and cloud-based services from users and organizations, as well as in bringing positive trade, investment, and productivity gains to a country. With improved internet access, societies can continue to modernize — people acquire skills and knowledge that open doors to new job opportunities, while businesses and governments increase productivity as a result of digital transformation. In fact, a 2020 study found that Google’s network investments in the Philippines led to an extra U.S. $14 billion in aggregate GDP and supported 93,000 additional jobs.

“We extend our gratitude to Google for its continued investments in the Philippines, encompassing both digital skilling and digital infrastructure. These contributions will undoubtedly fuel our nation’s expanding digital economy. We anticipate that this marks the start of a more fruitful collaboration, and we look forward to partnering closely with Google in the realization of a Digital Philippines,” said Secretary Frederick D. Go of the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (OSAPIEA).

Moreover, Google continues to maximize the opportunities in the country when it comes to aspects in digital world.

“At Google, we recognize the Philippines’ potential and we have invested actively in the country’s digital development. This includes digital skills training and digital infrastructure improvements. Our commitment has yielded significant economic benefits for the Philippines with our network investments alone that boosted the GDP by U.S. $14 billion and created 93,000 jobs. These outcomes motivate us to further deepen our collaboration with the Philippines and our efforts as a partner in building a robust digital economy,” said Sapna Chadh, Vice President for Google Southeast Asia and South Asia Frontier.

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Android, Google Play, Chrome, YouTube, Google Workspace, and Google Cloud, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.

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We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

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We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
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To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
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There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
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Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
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Information we collect from other sources

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- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

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There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

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The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
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We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
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We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

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We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.