DAYS BEFORE the Philippines hosts the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders’ Summit, the UST Student Organizations Coordinating Council (SOCC) expressed its opposition to the US-led Pax Silica project over concerns about community welfare and national sovereignty.
“No promise of investment can justify a project whose terms remain hidden and whose burdens may fall on people given little power over decisions that could change their homes, livelihoods, and future,” the SOCC said in a statement on Facebook, Nov. 10.
The SOCC, the central body of all recognized university-wide and college-based organizations of UST, questioned the project’s transparency, saying its legal framework remained incomplete. The environment department had yet to conduct an environmental impact assessment for the proposed development due to the absence of a clear project description, it added.
The council cited the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997, which requires informed consent for projects affecting ancestral domains, saying these are not merely physical spaces but are integral to Indigenous peoples’ livelihoods, cultural identity and heritage
The SOCC also questioned the extent of foreign influence over the country’s land and natural resources, arguing that Filipino interests must remain central to decisions concerning national development.
“Technology must serve people and remain answerable to them. A nation does not become stronger by giving others greater influence over what belongs to its people,” the council said.
“Pax Silica would place Filipino land, minerals, and labor within a United States-led network created to secure resources for global semiconductor and artificial-intelligence industries. True peace then cannot be manufactured by system optimization, enforced by algorithmic efficiency, or imposed by technical control. This places foreign strategic interests too close to decisions about our national resources,” it added.
US President Donald Trump is expected to attend the November 15 to 18 regional summit in Manila, alongside leaders of ASEAN member states and representatives of its dialogue partners.
The US-led Pax Silica initiative seeks to establish a network of partner countries to strengthen supply chains for critical minerals, semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI)-related industries. In the Philippines, its proposed industrial hub will cover approximately 1,620 hectares of New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, and is envisioned to accommodate advanced manufacturing and technology-related industries.
However, the parties of the proposed arrangement, have yet to reach a finalized legal framework.
According to th Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Pax Silica may create 130,000 to 190,000 direct jobs and 500,000 to 800,000 indirect or induced jobs. It is also seen to contribute P68-billion tax revenues annually and generate P60-billion lease income over 25 years, the BCDA added.
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. highlighted the initiative during his fifth State of the Nation Address last July.
“A product of the 23-member strong and US-led Pax Silica Initiative, the Pax Silica Industrial Hub will create an eco-system that will have AI at its core. It will bring quality jobs to our people, accelerate our industrial competitiveness, and revitalize our economy,” he said.
On Nov. 10, Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo said the agreement remained on track for signing before the end of 2026, although no specific signing date had been announced.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton clarified on Nov. 7 that no announcement on the proposed Pax Silica Economic Security Zone was scheduled for the upcoming ASEAN Summit, despite earlier reports stating that the deal could be unveiled during Trump’s visit.
Lawmakers have called for greater scrutiny of the arrangement. Senator Francis Pangilinan has urged a Senate inquiry into the project’s implications on farmers and Indigenous communities, saying their welfare and consent must not be overlooked.
House Resolution No. 1227, filed by Representatives Percival Cendaña, Chel Diokno, Dadah Kiram Ismula and Kaka Bag-ao, likewise sought an inquiry into the initiative’s projected economic benefits and its environmental, labor, social and national security implications.
The SOCC maintained that economic development should not come at the expense of Filipino communities, particularly those whose homes and livelihoods may be affected by the project.
The council urged the government to junk the project and prioritize Filipino interests.
“Truth requires us to question who gains and who carries the cost. Charity requires us to stand with those whose lives may be uprooted. We call on the Government to abandon Pax Silica and pursue development shaped by Filipino needs, governed by Filipino interests, and respectful of both human dignity and our common home,” it said.
“No community should be displaced for a future it was never allowed to shape.” F
