Progressive groups, civil society organizations, advocates, and members of the Aeta community on Monday launched the “No to Pax Silica” campaign, a network opposing the United States-led project that is set to be established in New Clark City, Tarlac. 

“We gather for an important purpose to formally launch the broad alliance of multi-sectoral people’s network to oppose Pax Silica,” Rev. Callum Tabada said in his opening remarks, representing the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP).

Plea of Aeta community

The Aeta community in Tarlac joined the network opposing the US-led project, as they raised concerns over previous developments that they said had affected or destroyed portions of their ancestral domain.

Sapang Kawayan chieftain Petronila Capiz-Muñoz reiterated that their fight to protect their ancestral lands has continued despite previous incidents during the development of the Green City and New Clark City.

Muñoz said their community was ordered to leave their ancestral land within seven days in 2019, but they refused to comply and instead put up barricades as bulldozers began clearing parts of their mountains.

The barricade lasted for several months before the COVID-19 pandemic began. However, Muñoz said the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) continued the destruction of their mountainous area despite the community’s opposition.

“Yan po ang naging karanasan namin noong 2019 hanggang pandemya. Kahit pandemya, binabawal namin ang manira sa aming kabundukan pero tinuloy pa rin nila,” the chieftain said. 

(That was our experience from 2019 until the pandemic. Even during the pandemic, we prohibited them from destroying our mountains, but they still continued.)

According to the tribal leader, their sacred mountains have since been converted into a golf course, while their native and natural caves were destroyed to make way for resorts and hotels.

The Aeta leader reiterated that the entire tribal community would continue to stand firm in defending their ancestral domain, particularly as new projects are planned in Tarlac that could affect the lands of Aeta and farming communities.

“Ang BCDA ngayon binigyan kami hanggang December na lang kami. Hindi nila sinabi sa amin kung ano ang proyekto ang itatayo sa amin,” she said. 

“At nalaman na lang namin dahil sa social media na sinasabi na itatayo sa New Clark City ang Pax Silica,” Munoz added. 

(The BCDA has now given us until December. They did not tell us what project will be built in our area and we only found out through social media that they were saying that Pax Silica would be built in New Clark City.)

The leader, meanwhile, said that their land would be affected by the project, noting that their ancestral domain is their life and the source of livelihood for the Indigenous community. 

“Mawawala kami lahat, paano na lang ang aming salinlahi?,” she raised. 

(We will all disappear, what will happen to our descendants.)

The chieftain noted that although they did not receive formal education, their land is their source of livelihood and allows them to survive.

“Iyan ang pagmamahal naming mga katutubo na hindi kami marunong manira ng kalikasan darating ang taga ibang bansa, kung sino man yang may proyekto diyan sa Pax Silica, Munoz said. 

“Kaya andito kami na nagsusumamo na dapat huwag ituloy, hadlangan natin ang Pax Silica. Di lang ang mamamayan ng katutubo lahat tayo ay maaapektuhan sa gusto na itatayo ang Pax Silica,” she added. 

(That is the love of us Indigenous people, that we do not know how to destroy nature, then people from other countries will come, whoever has the project there in Pax Silica. That is why we are here pleading that it should not be continued. Let us stop Pax Silica. It is not only the Indigenous people who will be affected; all of us will be affected by what they want to build through Pax Silica.)

Discussion on project’s impact

The launch also featured discussions assessing the promises and potential impacts of the Pax Silica project, including whether its stated benefits would be realized.

The discussion was led by Chair Emeritus of AGHAM Advocates for Science and Technology for the People, Dr. Giovanni Tapang.

“Itong Pax Silica na ito malinaw na sa US na mismo sinabi para sa interes ng US, sinabi nila ang US kailangan niyang i-secure 'yung kanyang critical minerals kaya raw siya nag-iimbita ng iba't ibang mga bansa para sa Pax Silica,” the former dean of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Science said.

(This Pax Silica, it is clear that the US itself said that it is for the interest of the US. They said the US needs to secure its critical minerals, which is why it is inviting different countries to join Pax Silica.)

Tapang noted that the project is a matter of competition over resources and the future, stressing that the US wants to secure the materials it needs for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, while China currently handles much of the processing involved.

“Gusto niyang maunahan ang Tsina, ng ilang mga taon pa dahil humabahabol din ang Tsina sa paggawa ng AI chips, the chair emeritus said.

“Kaya usapan talaga to ng kontrol  doon sa pagagawa ng computer chips, pagkuha ng mga minerals, hanggang doon sa  pag proseso at pagatatayo ng  data centers,” Tapang pointed out. 

(The US wants to get ahead of China by several years because China is also catching up in the production of AI chips. So, this is really a matter of control over the production of computer chips, the extraction of minerals, all the way to the processing and the construction of data centers.)

He noted that the project could affect electricity and water supplies, as Pax Silica would involve the construction of a water collection plant capable of providing 60 to 90 million liters of water per day.

The project would also involve the collection and concentration of rare earth minerals, including radioactive minerals such as thorium as well as concerns over waste management.

On the other hand, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Chairperson Teddy Casiño also discussed the project's implications. 

Casiño said that Pax Silica is often presented as an economic program, noting that the project is allegedly an opportunity for the Philippines to enter the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain, attract new investments, create more jobs, and catch up with technological developments. 

“Pero dapat nating maunawaan na ang Pax Silica ay higit pa sa usapin sa ekonomiya.Ito ay bunga ng tumitinding tungalian sa pagitan ng US at China para kontrolin ang pinakamodernong teknolohiya at sa muli para kontrolin ang pandaigdigang eknomiya,” he said. 

(But we must understand that Pax Silica is more than an economic matter. It is a result of the intensifying rivalry between the US and China to control the most advanced technology and, once again, to control the global economy.)

Casiño stressed that the competition for artificial intelligence (AI) supremacy is connected to the competition for military supremacy, noting that if the two are combined, it becomes clearer that the battle for AI supremacy between the US and China is ultimately a contest over which country will become the dominant power in the world in the coming decades. 

“Ang industriyalisasyon ng Pilipinas ay dapat para sa Pilipinas. Ang soberanya ng Pilipinas ay dapat manatili sa mga Pilipino at ang kinabukasan ng Pilipinas ay dapat tayong mga PIlipino ang magpapasya, coalition chair stated. 

(The industrialization of the Philippines should be for the Philippines. The sovereignty of the Philippines should remain with Filipinos, and the future of the Philippines should be decided by us Filipinos.)

Queen speaks out

Miss Universe Philippines Bea Windorski used her platform to voice her opposition to the proposed Pax Silica project and raise concerns over its potential impact on farmers and Indigenous communities in Tarlac.

The beauty queen, who recently represented La Union province, said in a video message that despite assurances from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) that no productive farmlands would be affected, 92 farmers in Barangay O’Donnell, Capas, Tarlac, have reportedly already been urged to leave the land they have cultivated for generations.

She also cited reports that around 500 families in Barangay Sta. Lucia alone could be displaced by the project, while Indigenous communities who have stewarded the land for centuries could face pollution and irreparably damaged waterways.

“This National Heroes Day, may we remember that our true heroes are reflected in the faces of the indigenous, the minor, subsistence farmers and the marginalized,” Windorski said. 

“We must resolutely reject Pax Silica and instead work hand-in-hand for a future where the Philippines is for the Filipinos,” the beauty queen added in her statement.