MANILA — The Philippines is building strong digital momentum, ranking third equal among 11 ASEAN markets, according to the GSMA’s Digital Nations Index 2026. Sustaining this progress will increasingly depend on ensuring trust as consumers, businesses, and government services become more digitally connected.
Scams are posing a growing challenge to trust. The GSMA ASEAN Consumer Scam Report 2026 found that 76% of Filipino consumers surveyed say they “absolutely worry” about being scammed, while 62% are avoiding contact or transactions because of scam concerns.
At today’s GSMA Digital Nation Summit Manila, the Philippines’ leading mobile operators Globe Telecom, PLDT/Smart and DITO Telecommunity highlighted how they are strengthening protection against scams, including stronger network protection and GSMA Open Gateway capabilities that can help make digital transactions safer. Alongside this, the GSMA is working with mobile operators across ASEAN to explore how network data and signals could contribute to earlier intervention against scams. In the Philippines, this work is being advanced through a GSMA Foundry proof of concept with Globe.
Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific, GSMA, said: “The Philippines has real digital momentum, but sustaining that progress depends on trust. Scams move across communications channels, digital platforms, and payment systems, so protecting consumers requires action across the digital ecosystem.
“Mobile operators have capabilities that can make a real difference. In the Philippines, we are bringing operators together to strengthen protection in the network and make digital transactions safer. Across ASEAN, we are also working with operators to explore whether network signals can help identify scam activity earlier and enable action elsewhere in the digital ecosystem before consumers are harmed. The priority now is to turn these capabilities into practical solutions that better protect consumers.”
Three Layers of Protection
The GSMA and mobile ecosystem’s work is focusing on strengthening protection at different points in the scam journey:
- Protecting the network: Through the GSMA United Against Scams Playbook, operators are working on practical measures to strengthen scam prevention, detection and response.
- Protecting the transaction: Globe, Smart, and DITO support work on GSMA Open Gateway capabilities that can help businesses strengthen identity verification and authentication during digital transactions. The next step is to develop practical use cases and build adoption among enterprises and the government.
- Preventing scams earlier: Across ASEAN, the GSMA is working with mobile operators to explore whether network data and signals can help identify potential scam activity earlier and whether relevant signals could enable action elsewhere in the digital ecosystem before consumers are harmed. In the Philippines, this work is being advanced through a GSMA Foundry proof of concept with Globe.
Digital Nation Summit Manila – From Commitment to Action
The GSMA Digital Nation Summit Manila, taking place in Manila on 4 November 2026, brings together policymakers, mobile operators, and technology leaders under the theme Building the Philippines’ Digital Future: Anchoring Trust to Accelerate Value.
The Summit will explore how the Philippines can build on its digital progress, with discussions spanning digital trust, connectivity, and the partnerships needed to support the next phase of the country’s digital development.
By bringing government and industry together, the Summit aims to move the conversation from ambition to practical action and identify opportunities to deliver greater value for consumers, businesses, and the wider economy.
