Silliman’s Bant AI wins big at IBPAP hackathon

An AI-powered app that protects children online—developed by students from Silliman University—emerged as the top winner of the first-ever Can You HackIT hackathon hosted by the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) in Cebu City.

The team, named Merge Conflict, clinched both the Top 1 Award and Best Use of AI for their project Bant AI, a multilingual content detection app designed to monitor harmful digital content in real time.

Bant AI can detect explicit, violent, or emotionally harmful online material and instantly alert parents, even providing emotional analysis to help families better understand and respond to their children’s online experiences.

Built to understand Filipino, Cebuano, and English, the app is designed with local language contexts in mind, reinforcing its potential as a digital guardian tailored for Philippine households.

“We wanted to build something that protects kids before the damage is done and helps parents understand what their children are really experiencing online,” Merge Conflict said during their final pitch.

The winning team hails from Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, and traveled to Cebu to compete against 27 other student teams from 14 higher education institutions across the region.

Can You HackIT, a national initiative piloted in Cebu, is spearheaded by IBPAP President and CEO Jack Madrid, along with IBPAP Tech and AI Council trustees Ambe Tierro of Accenture and Sanjiv Gupta of IBM Philippines.

The weeklong event combined expert mentorship with a one-day, high-stakes hackathon, where student teams were challenged to build practical technology solutions with real-world impact.

“The Cebu hackathon is a powerful reminder that innovation thrives where talent meets purpose,” said Tierro, who also serves as the country managing director of Accenture.

“This is about reshaping how we invest in talent by showing up, mentoring, and believing in young Filipino talent,” she added.

Gupta echoed the sentiment, emphasizing that the competition proved innovation isn’t confined to Metro Manila.

“Can You HackIT proves that innovation is not tied to geography. It’s tied to belief,” said Gupta, president and country head of IBM Philippines.

“When the industry comes together, not as brands, but as a united ecosystem, we unlock talent that’s been ready all along,” he said.

The event drew support from tech giants and major IT-BPM players including Accenture, IBM, EY GDS, Lexmark, Carelon, and Philtech.

Local institutional partners such as Cebu Institute of Technology University (CIT-U), Cebu IT-BPM Organization (CIB.O), and telecom company DITO also helped organize and mobilize the program on the ground.

“This was a full-force community effort,” said Madrid. “It worked because the industry didn’t just fund it, they helped shape the future alongside our students.”

Organizers noted that the entire Cebu leg was developed and launched in just a few weeks, with CIT-U serving as host campus and CIB.O providing logistical and operational support.

The goal of Can You HackIT, according to IBPAP, is to create a sustainable, scalable platform that connects students from across the country with mentorship, exposure, and real-world innovation challenges.

“What started as a bold idea is now a proven model,” Madrid said.

Following its success in Cebu, IBPAP is planning to replicate the program in other regional tech hubs in the months ahead.

“We’re not just opening doors,” Madrid said. “We’re building new ones and making sure no student with talent, heart, and hustle gets left standing outside.”

Can You HackIT is expected to expand to cities outside Cebu, with the ultimate goal of nurturing a nationwide innovation network that connects academic talent with industry demand.

The initiative also aligns with IBPAP’s broader mission of bolstering the Philippine IT-BPM sector, which continues to be a major pillar of the national economy.

As of 2024, the Philippine IT-BPM industry employs approximately 1.7 million professionals and contributes over PHP 2.5 trillion annually to the national economy, according to IBPAP.

IBPAP has also identified artificial intelligence, cloud technologies, and cybersecurity as key strategic focus areas, and Can You HackIT is seen as a major step toward strengthening the future talent pipeline in these fields.

With tech hubs emerging in places like Cebu, Dumaguete, Davao, and Iloilo, IBPAP said regional inclusion will be central to its future growth strategy.

By tapping young innovators through challenges like Can You HackIT, the organization hopes to decentralize innovation and unlock talent from all corners of the country.

“We know the talent is there,” said Tierro. “Now we’re building the bridges to bring them forward.”