Philippines faces integration gap in governance systems

Dhruv Soni says integration drives competitiveness

The Philippines needs to align people, processes and technology more tightly if it wants to future-proof governance and turn digital reform into measurable public value, according to Dhruv Soni, APAC Head, Telco & Media Consulting at Indra Group.

At an interview held at the GovMedia Summit 2026, Soni said governance should be viewed less as a policy slogan and more as an operating model that can survive institutional complexity and changing demands. “Future proof governance is a mix of three things. It is your people, your processes and your technology behind it,” he said.

The central issue, he argued, is whether organisations can integrate those three elements into a functioning system. That means having talent focused on outcomes, processes that allow proper handovers of data and services, and technology that supports digital ways of working. “If these three ingredients organizations can get right and get going like a governance engine, then they can succeed in their overall ambition of achieving their mandate,” Soni said.

For the Philippines, Soni identified education and healthcare as the clearest areas for creating public value over the next few years. In education, he said digital tools and AI can help make services more accessible and affordable, whilst raising the value of the country’s talent base. 
He said healthcare presents a similar opportunity, especially in building a more unified service ecosystem from rural areas to urban centres. “We must ensure that from a very, very young infant to really elderly, they must have the right opportunities to find help,” Soni said, pointing to the need for better coordination across care, insurance and medical services.

Soni said the broader competitiveness challenge for the Philippines goes beyond any single agency or sector. He highlighted connectivity, telecom, media, education and healthcare as key fronts, but stressed that public and private sectors must work together. “We need to constantly keep upgrading ourselves by providing higher value services, higher value products from the Philippines,” he said.

He added that progress will depend on disciplined execution. “Those would be some areas that I think should be worked on with clear focus, with yearly goals, with three-year goals, with a five year result.”