Embedding AI Literacy in Philippine Higher Education: A National Strategy for Workforce Readiness in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Philippine higher education has a problem that keeps getting worse. Students are using AI tools at record rates while their institutions have no real plan for it. Over 83% of Philippine students already use generative AI for academic work, yet fewer than half of all higher education institutions have clear policies on it, and the Philippines ranked last in the 2023 Asia-Pacific AI Readiness Index. This paper argues that embedding structured AI literacy programs across Philippine higher education is not optional. It is an economic and educational necessity. The argument rests on three things: the documented gap between student AI use and institutional readiness, the threat AI disruption poses to the Philippine workforce particularly the IT-BPM sector, and the existence of global frameworks that Philippine institutions can adopt right now. The cost of inaction is a generation of graduates entering labor markets where 39% of existing job skills are expected to become outdated by 2030.