The Philippines is using its 2026 ASEAN chairship to expand its P2.12-trillion creative economy into a larger regional export and investment platform, seeking to connect Filipino talent with Southeast Asian and global markets.
Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said the creative economy contributed 7.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2025, generating P320 billion in creative goods exports and P427 billion in creative services exports.
“These figures prove that Filipino talent can compete and win on the world stage,” Roque said at the ASEAN Creative Industries Expo.
“With the Philippines chairing 2026, we are opening regional pathways for creators,” she said.
A key part of the strategy is the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), which Roque said is scheduled for signing during the Philippines’ chairship and could further integrate digital markets across Southeast Asia.
“This is the first in the world and this will open the digital space across ASEAN,” she said, urging creative businesses that rely on digital platforms to prepare for the agreement.
The Philippines is also advancing an ASEAN Center of Excellence for Creative Industry to provide another platform for regional cooperation, knowledge sharing, and industry development.
Roque said the government wants to connect Filipino talent across nine creative domains, including film, animation, digital gaming, fashion design, and traditional crafts, with international buyers, investors, and expanding markets.
For creative businesses, the push is aimed at turning talent and intellectual property into exportable products and services, while improving access to capital and regional distribution networks.
Roque also called on investors to finance creative ideas, expand platforms, and forge long-term commercial partnerships.
The strategy reflects the government’s effort to treat the creative sector not only as a source of cultural output but also as an increasingly important export industry.
The ASEAN chairship provides the Philippines a regional platform to pursue that shift, with the longer-term goal of positioning the country as a major creative hub in Asia by 2030.
