PAX SILICA | UP forum raises questions on jobs, resources and industrial policy
The Philippines joined Pax Silica in April 2026. The US-led initiative aims to strengthen supply chains for advanced technologies and critical materials.
A University of the Philippines Diliman forum on Monday examined the proposed US-led Pax Silica industrial hub, with economists, environmental scientists, foreign policy specialists and science advocates discussing its potential effects on Philippine manufacturing, natural resources, employment and national development.
The forum, titled “Pax Silica: Progress for Whom?,” was held Oct. 19 at the Institute of Biology Auditorium. Speakers included University of the Philippines School of Economics professor Cielo Magno, UP Institute of Biology associate professor Jelaine L. Gan, UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies Strategic Studies Program convener Herman Joseph S. Kraft, and National Institute of Physics professor Giovanni Tapang.
Their presentations focused on the proposed 1,620-hectare development in New Clark City, Capas, Tarlac, and its links to a wider supply chain for semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and critical minerals.
The Philippines joined Pax Silica in April 2026. The US-led initiative aims to strengthen supply chains for advanced technologies and critical materials. Philippine officials have presented the proposed Clark development as an advanced manufacturing hub intended to attract investment and move the country into higher-value segments of the global technology industry.
The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has projected investments of $40 billion to $70 billion and more than 130,000 jobs once the development is fully realized. These remain projections rather than confirmed investment commitments or employment figures.
The forum took place as the government continued preparing a framework agreement with the United States. On Oct. 13, Malacañang said the agreement was expected to be signed before the end of 2026, following the BCDA’s submission of a proposed legal framework governing the planned industrial park to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The agreement’s full text had not been publicly released in the materials reviewed for the forum.
Questions on economic benefits, safeguards
Magno discussed the Philippines’ dependence on imported goods, its experience with foreign investment and mining, and the need for a coherent industrial policy to ensure that large projects contribute to domestic economic development.
She said extracting and processing minerals would not automatically produce broad economic gains without fair compensation for resources, effective environmental enforcement and policies directing public revenues toward other industries.
“Hindi ‘yun mangyayari sa konteksto ng mining natin ngayon,” Magno said, referring to the expectation that downstream mineral processing would automatically drive economic growth under existing conditions.
She also questioned the government’s ability to enforce environmental safeguards and ensure meaningful participation by communities, including Indigenous peoples whose ancestral-domain claims involve land near the proposed development.
Magno cited weaknesses in implementing free, prior and informed consent requirements and called for an industrial policy that connects investment incentives with measurable development objectives.
Her presentation also examined the proposed project’s land arrangements, including the possibility of long-term leases, and the need to assess whether the terms would deliver benefits to Filipinos over time.
The concerns are part of a broader public debate about the development’s terms. At a Senate hearing in August, BCDA President and CEO Joshua Bingcang said foreign investors had yet to submit a detailed development plan and that consultations with affected communities were incomplete. He said the government would provide the land, while foreign investors would supply the capital for facilities and infrastructure.
Outlining environmental, infrastructure concerns
Gan examined the proposed development’s potential environmental effects, including its water and electricity requirements, land use, waste management and possible effects on ecosystems beyond New Clark City.
According to the figures cited in her presentation, BCDA projections indicate daily water requirements of 65 million to 90 million liters. Gan said the source of that supply, particularly during the dry season, needs to be established through publicly available hydrological studies.
She also cited a projected peak electricity requirement of 3 gigawatts, which she compared with the output of five 620-megawatt Bataan nuclear power plants. Her presentation raised questions about whether additional power generation would rely on renewable energy, liquefied natural gas or existing grid capacity.
Gan said the environmental assessment should cover not only the proposed site but also the wider supply chain. Depending on which industries locate there, the development could increase demand for mining and mineral processing in areas such as Caraga, Zambales and Palawan.
She discussed potential impacts from mine tailings, wastewater, industrial chemicals and electronic waste, as well as the land requirements of solar facilities and other supporting infrastructure.
Gan also noted that the project has been described in different ways, including as an AI data center hub, an advanced manufacturing complex and a site for mineral processing. She said a clearer project description is necessary to assess its environmental effects.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said during a House hearing in August that no environmental impact assessment application for Pax Silica had been filed or processed at that time, citing the absence of a clear project description. The Department of Agrarian Reform also said in September that it had not received land-conversion applications related to the proposed hub.
Government officials, meanwhile, have clarified that the proposed Clark development is intended primarily for semiconductor and other industrial activities, rather than a large complex of hyperscale data centers. In August, Bingcang said any data centers at the site would mainly support companies operating there.
PH’s geopolitical, industrial policy
Kraft placed the initiative within the competition between the United States and China over technology, supply chains and strategic resources. He said the Philippines must define its national interests and strengthen its capacity to make and implement policies rather than treat participation in rival initiatives as a choice between two major powers.
He argued that reducing the country’s economic and policy vulnerabilities would give it greater room to pursue its interests as international competition intensifies.
Tapang focused on whether hosting foreign companies would develop Philippine industrial capabilities. He cited the country’s decades-long experience in electronics manufacturing, where export production has not necessarily translated into domestic ownership of technology or the ability to manufacture more advanced products locally.
“Hindi ‘yan dahil may factories ka dito ay industrialized ka na,” Tapang said.
He argued that government incentives should be tied to technology acquisition, domestic research and development, local suppliers and measurable industrial targets. He also questioned whether projected job figures adequately reflected the types of facilities being discussed, noting that employment levels differ significantly between manufacturing plants, mineral-processing facilities and data centers.
Tapang cited Taiwan and South Korea as examples of economies that developed domestic technological capabilities through sustained investments in research institutions and industrial development policies.
He called for investment plans that support Filipino-owned industries and domestic demand, rather than relying primarily on foreign investors’ priorities.
Calls for evidence-based debate
In a July 25 commentary published by Newsbytes.ph, electronics engineer and internet-rights advocate Pierre Tito Galla urged the public to assess Pax Silica through verifiable information rather than assumptions about the proposed development.
Galla outlined concerns over electricity and water demand, land use, employment and technology transfer, while distinguishing between confirmed project details and speculation about which companies or facilities might locate in Clark.
He cited earlier government discussions of a possible electricity demand of at least 5 gigawatts, a figure higher than the 3-gigawatt projection discussed in Gan’s presentation. The figures refer to different reported estimates and should not be treated as a settled requirement for a final project design.
Galla also noted that government officials had discussed additional power generation and water-management measures. He argued that concerns should be examined against the specific facilities eventually proposed and the infrastructure commitments made to support them.
On mineral extraction, Galla said the Philippines’ participation should not automatically be equated with a new domestic mining expansion, since the materials processed at the proposed hub and their sources had not been fully established. He also noted that semiconductor technologies can have both civilian and military applications, making dual-use concerns relevant beyond Pax Silica alone.
His commentary concluded that the debate should distinguish established facts from projections and speculation, with public scrutiny focused on the initiative’s actual terms and implementation.
The government has said the planned hub will comply with Philippine law and that its governance framework will explicitly preserve national sovereignty. Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said in September that the proposed agreement would not grant diplomatic immunity to foreign personnel working in the development.
The framework agreement, project-specific development plans, environmental assessments and investment commitments will help determine how the initiative proceeds and what benefits or obligations it creates for the Philippines.
Full disclosure: All news articles published on the TechSabado website are written by human journalists, unless otherwise specified. Final text editing is also performed by human editors, with artificial intelligence (AI) used only to assist with additional grammar and style guide corrections..
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