As data centers multiply, localization pushed

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February 26, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines could be one step away from becoming the nucleus of Southeast Asia’s digital resurgence, especially as its data center capacity will triple to nearly 500 megawatts by 2028.

The Data Center Operators of the Philippines said they are establishing new data centers over the next two years to increase capacity by three times to 473 MW, from 150 MW right now.

DCPH president Victor Genuino said the group is prepared to break ground on new projects once clients, most of whom are tech giants, commit to locate availability zones in the Philippines.

Tech titans like Amazon, Google and Meta set up availability zones for disaster resilience. These zones house several data centers equipped with independent cooling, network and power, so that when one goes out, the others back it up, keeping the digital world running.

“The current Philippine data center capacity is around 150 MW, and this is more than enough to serve current demand. However, once the hyperscalers build their availability zones to serve both public and private sector demand, this may not be enough,” Genuino told
The STAR.

For 2026, Globe Telecom Inc.’s data center arm ST Telemedia Global Data Centers (Philippines) is adding 12 MW to the country’s total capacity by partially operating its Fairview campus.

Once fully built, STT Fairview, costing $1 billion, will become the country’s largest data center with a capacity of 124 MW.

PLDT Inc.’s data center builder VITRO Inc. is also designing a 100-MW data center, estimated to cost P40 billion, to be located in Trece Martires, Cavite.

China Bank Capital Corp. managing director Juan Paolo Colet said the Philippines could become a data center giant in Southeast Asia if the government legislates a data residency law.

Data residency, also called data localization, is a policy mandating the storage of data within the borders where it originated from. In short, if a government or private agency collects data in the Philippines, it must be stored in a data center in the Philippines.

Colet said a data residency law could be the catalyst needed by data center builders like VITRO planning to file an initial public offering (IPO) as real estate investment trust (REIT).

“To optimize valuation, I think we need an industry-specific catalyst to create a more compelling data center IPO story, (and) one such catalyst could be a definitive and comprehensive policy or regulation mandating data residency,” Colet told The STAR.

Colet said the Philippine Stock Exchange is ready for a data center IPO because the country has the makings of a digital hotspot, from having an industry investing in more assets, to catering to a population so addicted to web browsing.

“There are good data center assets in the Philippines, data consumption keeps rising and the data center business is a major component of the global infrastructure buildout for the AI revolution. In my view, the best listing structure for a local data center portfolio would be REIT,” Colet said.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam are some of the countries in Southeast Asia that require firms, particularly in the financial sector, to localize data storage. The DCPH is also pushing for a data residency law to improve utilization of local data centers.

Property analyst Cushman & Wakefield identifies the Philippines as an emerging hub in Asia and the Pacific for data centers.

As of 2025, the country operates a total capacity of 73 MW in 24 facilities, with 22 MW more in development while 89 MW still in planning, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

The Philippines is vying to become a digital hub by building data centers, where government and private entities store their applications and information.