Senator Rafael “Raffy” Tulfo filed Proposed Senate Resolution No. 571 during the Senate session on Tuesday, 11 August, calling for a legislative inquiry into the proposed Pax Silica Hub in New Clark City.

The inquiry seeks to assess the project’s potential environmental impact, social consequences for host communities and the sufficiency of existing legal protections.

“The lessons from Chuangxing in Magalang, Pampanga must guide us as we look into another major development, the Pax Silica project,” Tulfo said.

The proposed Pax Silica Hub is projected to be 300 times larger than the Chuangxing facility.

“If we cannot handle such a small company, paano pa itong malaking development?” he added.

Proponents estimate that the Pax Silica Hub could attract P600 billion in initial investments, generate 130,000 to 290,000 jobs and yield P68 billion to P75 billion in annual tax revenues.

Tulfo said a development of this scale would place heavy demands on local resources, particularly water, echoing concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) and data infrastructure abroad that consume millions of gallons of water daily for cooling operations.

“Bilang chairman ng committee on public services, nakita na po natin sa ilang hearing kung gaano kaseryoso ang problema sa water supply, including in parts of Tarlac and Pampanga,” the senator said.

Tulfo called for clarity on the project’s water sources and who would be prioritized in the event of water scarcity.

“Napakarami pa rin pong tanong na kailangang sagutin,” the senator added.

Tulfo also questioned the project’s wider impact on the environment and surrounding communities, particularly local farmers and Indigenous groups. He also sought clarification on whether the hundreds of thousands of jobs being advertised would benefit Filipino workers.

In closing, Tulfo pointed to the recent raid on Chuangxing in Pampanga as a warning of what could happen when regulatory enforcement comes too late.