CITING an existing law recognizing, protecting, and promoting their rights to ancestral domains, Aeta leaders from Capas, Tarlac opposed plans to transform their lands into an artificial intelligence industrial hub.
In a media forum held in Quezon City, indigenous people from Sitio Sapang Kawayan asked the government to reconsider its decision to host a Pax Silica AI Industrial Hub on a 1,600-hectare area that would encroach on the Aeta indigenous community in Barangay Aranguren.
“Naglakad lang po kami hanggang sa makarating dito sa inyo dahil yung panawagan namin sa aming ancestral domain na sana ang aming pakiusap kasama namin kayo na bumuwag sa Pax Silica,” an emotional Aeta chieftain Petroniza Capriz-Muñoz said.
“Kami po talagang mga katutubo doon ay apektado sa sinasabi nilang proyektong Pax Silica. Mag-start po sa amin… kaya kaming mga katutubo ang pilit na sinasabi namin kahit saan kami magpunta — ang buhay namin ay lupa. Siya ang ikinabubuhay namin,” she added.
Capriz-Muños rejected Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA)’s claim that the planned data center would be built on public land not covered by an ancestral domain title (ADT).
Speaking on behalf of Aetas living in Sitio Sapang Kawayan, Capriz-Muños vowed to stay in their ancestral land, which they have been applying for an ADT since 1984.
“Kami ay nagsusumikap para magtanim sa aming sariling lupang-ninuno para ang saling-lahi namin ay mapag-aral namin. Ngayon, nandyan ang proyektong Pax Silica, kaya kami po naninindigan kami na hindi kami aalis dahil simula’t sapul nandun na po kami,” she further averred.
She also showed the media a copy of their ADT application with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).
“Taong 1994 pa may first endorsement na ang NCIP hanggang ngayon hindi pa lumalabas ang ADT namin.”
The planned Pax Silica high-tech industrial zone in Tarlac, is part of the Philippines’ partnership with the US. It seeks to attract investments in semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI), and other advanced technology industries.
However, the project drew criticisms from progressive and environmental groups, including the Kalikasan and Makabayan bloc over its potential environmental and social impact.
