THE PROMISES AND vision that the US brainchild Pax Silica are overwhelming for a country yearning for development, until the host realizes its toll on the livelihood, on indigenous communities, on food, water and energy supply and the vulnerability to attacks that the host is exposed to.
But even before the project gets started, discord has surrounded Pax Silica, despite assurances by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in his 5th State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Prior to the project signing slated in December this year, protests and arguments have been raised louder than the voices and information that official government agencies are selling to the people.
The project—touting to make the Philippines the world’s AI hub —would convert roughly 1,600-hectare agriculturally-productive land into a high-tech hub.
IMMINENT DISPLACEMENT
However, a group which calls itself AGHAM (Alyansa ng mga Grupong Haligi ng Agham at Mamamayan), said that the hub could eat up the limited energy and water resources that could hardly suffice domestic demand.
AGHAM also allayed fears over an imminent displacement of residents from three barangays predominantly populated by families relying on farming as livelihood. It would also shoo Aeta away from their ancestral domain.
“Farmers and IP groups will be displaced either through direct physical displacement or indirectly by loss of livelihood. The immense scale of the project will undoubtedly affect their livelihoods both inside and outside the project area,” AGHAM spokesperson Giovanni Tapang said.
NOT ENTIRELY TRUE
Tapang also accused the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and the Department of Foreign Affairs—of presenting an incomplete picture of the potential impacts of the Pax Silica project to be built next year (and to be finished by 2028) in the New Clark City, Tarlac.
Under the United States-led international initiative, the hub will be built to support artificial intelligence infrastructure, data centers, and advanced semiconductor manufacturing.
“The BCDA and the Marcos Jr. administration are clearly desperate to whitewash their environmentally destructive and unsustainable Pax Silica project with the United States,” Tapang over the weekend.
“The facts are clear—a project of this scale will invariably impact local farming communities negatively, and will not present any clear, long-term opportunities for the genuine development of our country,” he added.
FOOD SECURITY AT RISK
AGHAM said that the BCDA has already put out an initial list of Project Affected Persons for Pax Silica earlier this month, showing that residents of barangays O’Donnel, Aranguren, and Santa Lucia of Capas, Tarlac will be impacted.
Data from the Capas municipal government showed over 30 percent of its land area is considered productive agricultural land.
AGHAM refuted claims that the AI data centers Pax Silica is courting will run on renewable energy for its 24/7 operations citing that intermittent energy sources like solar and wind may not be able to supply energy consistently for this purpose because these depend highly on environmental factors.
The scientists’ group said that data centers in the US are now reportedly using diesel generators to keep operations running, resulting in massive air pollution.
The claimed surface water harvesting, or rainfall collection, will still mean reducing the water used or available for farmers and their communities, including communities downstream of the project.
MORE HARM THAN GOOD
Meanwhile, the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) challenged BCDA’s claims that the 1,620-hectare project would create jobs, rely on renewable energy and avoid displacing local communities.
They also argued that promises of jobs, clean energy and economic growth overlook the project’s potential costs to agriculture, water resources, workers and IP.
“There are also Aeta communities in the area of New Clark City (adjacent to the Pax Silica site) whose ancestral lands that the National Commission on IPs do not formally recognize). These are the farmers and IP groups that will be displaced,” it added.
AGHAM argued that the project’s projected demand of three to five gigawatts would likely require fossil fuels or other energy sources, while supplying even half of that demand through solar farms which would need over 1,000 hectares of additional land.
DRYING UP FARMLANDS
The organization likewise challenged BCDA’s assurance that the project would rely on surface water harvesting instead of community water, saying diverting rainwater for industrial use would still reduce groundwater recharge and diminish water available for farmers and downstream communities.
“There are reports in other countries how communities are now dealing with dirty taps and drinking water due to nearby operations of AI data centers, the same centers Pax Silica wants to bring into our country,” AGHAM’s statement reads.
“This claim by the BCDA also raises the question how water needs of the project will be met in situations of drought or low rainfall, which are becoming more frequent with worsening climate change,” it added.
WARMONGERING DEAL
The group also rejected assurances that the project would have no military applications, arguing that artificial intelligence, semiconductors and microchips have long been used for both civilian and military purposes.
Tapang said the project would deepen the country’s dependence on foreign industries instead of strengthening domestic production.
“Instead of lopsided agreements with a warmongering imperialist power, what we need is a robust national industrialization policy that prioritizes the products Filipinos actually need, food, provision of social services, among many other things, placing people and planet first over profit,” he said.
LABOR, LAND ISSUES
In a separate statement, UMA said Pax Silica would worsen agricultural backwardness by accelerating land conversion in Central Luzon, threatening food sovereignty and exposing communities to environmental and health risks.
Beyond environmental concerns, UMA said the proposed economic zone would reinforce low wages in rural areas instead of improving workers’ conditions — “Imbis na itaas ang mababang sahod sa kanayunan, ipang-aakit pa ito ni Marcos Jr. sa mga imperyalista,” said UMA national chair Ariel “Ka Ayik” Casilao.
UMA also disputed BCDA’s claim that the project would generate around 190,000 jobs, saying the agency has not disclosed the quality of those positions (They are probably the minimum wage entry positions).
Currently, it said, daily minimum wages in much of Central Luzon stand at P570 for agricultural workers and P600 for non-agricultural workers, less than half of the estimated P1,312 family living wage.
DENR CHIEF ASSURANCE
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin meanwhile said the Pax Silica will not affect the energy supply of the households and businesses outside it.
“It could be yung they build their own power plant, or another way is that they can get somebody to build a power plant especially for them. Marami pa yang variations na pwede,” Garin said.
Several members of the House of Representatives are now urging a deeper probe into Pax Silica.
Garin said they are coming up with a department circular “so that they will know what are the options,” adding that Filipinos will be insulated from the energy side of the project.