Pasig city: The Department of Education (DepEd) is pushing forward a regional effort with its Southeast Asian counterparts to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital infrastructure in basic education, positioning technology as a practical tool to raise learning outcomes and ease teachers' day-to-day workload.

According to Philippines News Agency, Education Secretary Sonny Angara encouraged education leaders and development partners to advance AI readiness to ensure a quality basic education system in Southeast Asia. Angara emphasized the importance of shared insights and resources among ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors in advancing AI-driven education.

'A future-ready ASEAN cannot be built on guesswork or lofty rhetoric alone. It must be grounded in the lived realities of our people,' Angara stated following the 3rd Regional Policy Convening of the AI Ready ASEAN Programme held in Pasig City.

The convening, part of the AI Ready ASEAN initiative of the ASEAN Foundation, aims to expand AI literacy and promote its responsible use among ASEAN member states. Through regional collaboration, the initiative seeks to deliver more accessible digital learning tools and data-driven interventions for Filipino learners, enhancing online and blended learning platforms.

These efforts focus on making learning more responsive to individual needs while ensuring ethical, inclusive, and age-appropriate technology use. Teachers are expected to benefit from shared ASEAN policy frameworks that provide practical classroom support, with AI-enabled systems streamlining administrative work and facilitating smarter lesson planning.

The country's participation in this initiative is anchored on DepEd's Project AGAP.AI (Accelerating Governance and Adaptive Pedagogy through Artificial Intelligence). Under the AI Ready ASEAN Program, nearly 796,000 teachers and learners in the Philippines have completed training on the fundamentals of AI literacy, supported by a grant from Google.org.