Angeline Chrisette C. Olegario
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (“DICT”) and the Civil Service Commission (“CSC”) jointly issued on 09 June 2026 Joint Memorandum Circular No. 003 (“Circular No. 003”), Series of 2026, entitled “Principles for the Ethical and Responsible Development, Deployment, and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Government”. Circular No. 003 establishes principles a uniform governance framework to guide public sector in the ethical and responsible development, including its training and testing, deployment, and use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) systems while safeguarding human rights, accountability, transparency, cybersecurity, and public interest.
Circular No. 003 applies to all government officials and employees in all government agencies and instrumentalities, namely: Constitutional Bodies; departments, bureaus, and agencies of the National Government; Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) with original charters; Local Government Units (LGUs); and State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), regardless of status of appointment.
Circular No. 003 mandates that AI must adhere to the following foundational principles:
- Proportionality and Do No Harm
- Human-centricity
- Fairness and Non-discrimination
- Transparency and Explainability
- Data Governance, Privacy, and Protection
- Responsibility and Accountability
- Multistakeholder and Adaptive Governance and Collaboration
- Cyber Safety and Security
- Robustness and Reliability
- Sustainability
The Circular particularly provides that AI systems shall neither cause nor exacerbate harm nor adversely affect human beings,” and emphasizes that AI systems ”shall not displace ultimate human responsibility and accountability.” Government agencies therefore remain accountable for AI-assisted decisions, including where AI development or processing is outsourced to third parties.
Circular No. 003 likewise identifies the respective responsibilities of AI developers, AI deployers, AI users, and AI vendors. Among others, AI deployers are required to provide appropriate disclosure where AI models or systems, including machine learning models and large language models, are used in government deliverables or services. AI users remain responsible and accountable for their use of AI systems, while persons affected by AI-assisted decisions should be afforded the opportunity to contest such decisions and request human review. AI vendors, for their part, are expected to ensure that AI solutions are reliable, secure, and ethical, and may be held accountable for delivering flawed products or failing to disclose material risks and limitations.
To ensure strict compliance, Circular No. 003 requires every covered agency using AI systems to establish an internal committee composed, at a minimum, of representatives from the agency’s Information Technology and Legal units, together with representatives of the AI developer and AI deployer. The committee is tasked with providing recommendations to the Head of Agency or authorized executive officer on the allowable extent of the development, deployment, and use of AI systems within the agency.
The Circular likewise requires covered agencies to adopt internal AI governance policies and integrate its requirements into their Information Systems Strategic Plans (ISSPs), procurement processes, technical specifications, terms of reference, service agreements, and contracts, among others. It further requires agencies to ensure that government data used in AI systems is managed in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, including the Data Privacy Act of 2012, relevant cybersecurity issuances, and government records management policies.
Moving forward, the DICT and CSC are directed to jointly issue implementing guidelines within 90 days from the effectivity of Circular No. 003.
Circular No. 003 may be accessed through:
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2026/06jun/20260609-DICT-CSC-Circular-003-2026-FRM.pdf