Aeta communities and activists contest Pax Silica tech hub planned at New Clark City, Philippines

Left · 1In April, Washington and Manila announced plans to build a 4,000-acre high-tech manufacturing hub in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines, under Pax Silica, a US-led pact to build AI and semiconductor supply chains not reliant on China. 1 Centre · 1Gulf News describes Pax Silica as a US-led drive for secure supply chains in AI, semiconductors and critical minerals among allied nations, and says the Philippines formally joined in April 2026. 2 Left · 1The hub would sit within New Clark City, inside the larger Clark area, a former US military complex managed by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Manila in July, and a final agreement is slated for signing in November. 1

Left · 1On 10 September, hundreds of demonstrators carrying signs reading “No to Pax Silica!” gathered outside a Manila hotel where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. addressed the Luzon Economic Corridor investors' forum; activists say police injured at least 27 protesters and arrested five, while police reported minor injuries to 16 personnel. 1 Left · 1According to Grist (republishing Mongabay), the site overlaps with ancestral domain claims of thousands of Aetas, and a survey by Syracuse University professor Arnisson Andre Ortega found construction would impede on at least three Aeta villages; BCDA chief Joshua Bingcang said there is no ancestral domain title in the area and denied anyone would be displaced. 1 Left · 1Aeta elder Gloria Capiz-Estabillo, 76, said the BCDA has begun telling Aetas to leave. Aetas have sought an ancestral domain certificate since 1994 but face delays over documentation requirements, which Ortega attributes to a lack of government support. 1

Left · 1Bingcang estimated the facility would need about 3 gigawatts, mainly solar, and 16 to 24 million gallons of water daily; Grist calculates this at roughly 26.3 TWh a year, against about 28 TWh used by the Philippines' whole service sector in 2024. Critics such as Giovanni Tapang of the Network Opposed to Pax Silica question dry-season water competition with farmers and who would benefit from the energy. 1 Left · 1Officials present the project as an opportunity: Finance undersecretary Angela Ignacio called it a chance to become a “global player,” and US State Department adviser Heather Variava said the US aims “to bring more power, to bring water, to bring more benefits.” The BCDA first said data centres could be part of the hub, then denied it in September, though a forum document listed data centres in New Clark City. 1 Left · 1The hub is backed by the Investor's Lease Act, signed by Marcos in September, which lets foreign businesses lease land for up to 99 years. 1

Centre · 1A Gulf News opinion column by Jay Hilotin says the debate has reached “fever-pitch” and that concerns cannot be brushed aside, but argues for a “whole-of-nation” approach rather than a binary for-or-against choice. It calls for Manila to publish a framework on scope, resources, safeguards and incentives, and for Indigenous peoples and affected communities to shape decisions, citing economist Cielo Magno's call to look beyond tallies of investors. 2