A student team from Silliman University in Dumaguete City won the top award at the first Can You HackIT hackathon in Cebu City with their project, Bant.AI, an application that detects harmful online content in real time.
Merge Conflict, composed of Silliman University students, received both the Top 1 Award and Best Use of AI for their entry. Bant.AI alerts parents when harmful content is detected and provides emotional analysis to help families respond appropriately.
Built to understand Filipino, Cebuano, and English, Bant.AI is designed for local contexts. Bant.AI is a play on words of the Tagalog bantay, which could mean watching over.
“We wanted to build something that protects kids before the damage is done and helps parents understand what their children are really experiencing online,” the team said during their final pitch.
Organized by the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), Can You HackIT aims to connect students with technology industry leaders and help turn their ideas into practical solutions. The event gathered 28 student teams from 14 schools for a week of mentorship followed by a one-day hackathon.
“Can You HackIT proves that innovation is not tied to geography. It’s tied to belief,” said Sanjiv 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.”
The initiative was supported by Accenture, IBM, EY GDS, Lexmark, Carelon, and Philtech, along with Cebu Institute of Technology University, Cebu IT-BPM Organization, and DITO.
“This was a full-force community effort,” said Jack Madrid, president and CEO of IBPAP. “It worked because the industry didn’t just fund it, they helped shape the future alongside our students.”
Can You HackIT will be held in other regional tech hubs across the country in the coming months.