EDITORIAL - Pax Silica: A good deal?

Defenders say the proposed Pax Silica hub in Tarlac will position the Philippines as a primary node in the global tech and artificial intelligence supply chain, create over 130,000 high-paying jobs and reduce economic dependence on China amid an intensifying maritime dispute.

Detractors, on the other hand, warn about displacement of communities, environmental damage, the loss of mineral resources and agricultural lands as well as siphoning of limited water resources and electricity for the area. There are also concerns that Pax Silica will keep the country stuck as a low-cost assembler in the global value chain.

To reduce the confusion and keep the public properly informed, the details of the project must be laid out quickly by the government.

On Friday, President Marcos defended the US-backed initiative to create an international coalition of high-tech manufacturing and innovation hubs. The Philippines, which joined the initiative last April, aims to set up the Pax Silica hub on a 1,620-hectare area in New Clark City, with the private sector footing the bill for the development of the necessary infrastructure.

The President had previously defended the initiative as a “good deal” and has sought to allay concerns about the project. Among the pluses he cited was that it would enable the country to process its minerals locally instead of exporting these as raw ore.

Officials have also denied or clarified early reports on jurisdiction, stressing that the hub will operate strictly under Philippine laws, with no foreign diplomatic immunity granted to anyone.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian has described the initiative as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for the economy that could create about 800,000 jobs at its construction phase alone and another 200,000 direct jobs once completed, and attract nearly $70 billion in investments.

Both Gatchalian and Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez have pointed out that such investments could go instead to neighboring countries that want Pax Silica, among them Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. Romualdez urged the nation to focus on the “positives” as he warned that unrelenting criticism could make the country lose the project.

Gatchalian, however, stressed the importance of compliance with Philippine laws and addressing the concerns raised by opponents.

At this point, even the second highest official of the land is clearly in the dark about Pax Silica.

While in The Hague to visit her father at the prison of the International Criminal Court, reporters had asked Vice President Sara Duterte for comment on the initiative. In a recorded exchange that has gone viral, she replied: “What? Fox silic… fox silic? … I cannot comment on that.”

For an informed debate, the government must release the framework for the project ASAP.