SONA 2026: Marcos highlights Pax Silica hub as a driver of new opportunities and growth

Marcos says the AI hub in New Clark City will boost jobs and growth.

Courtesy: PCO

Jobs and more promised, but at what cost?

President Bongbong Marcos has highlighted the opportunities the Pax Silica Industrial will bring to the country amid controversy surrounding the project.

A product of the 23-member strong and US-led Pax Silica Initiative, the Pax Silica Industrial Hub will create an ecosystem that will have AI at its core, Marcos said in his fifth State of the Nation Address.

The president said that the hub will bring quality jobs to Filipinos, accelerate the country's industrial competitiveness, and revitalize the economy.

As a strategic component of the Luzon Economic Corridor, the hub will be an advanced manufacturing and logistics center in the global AI and technology value chain, Marcos said.

According to the Bases and Conversion Development Authority, a 4,000-acre property within New Clark City, Tarlac, will be home to the Pax Silica Coordination Office. This is set to advance the Philippine government's goal of positioning the country as a key global player in emerging technologies.

The hub will be where technology firms, research institutions, and government agencies can converge to build a robust AI ecosystem, accelerate innovation, and attract high-value investments, the agency said.

However, advocacy groups have argued that said benefits of the project overlook its potential costs to agriculture, water resources, workers, and Indigenous communities.

Advocates of Science and Technology for the People has said that BCDA's statements about the project present "an incomplete picture" of the implications, according to ABS-CBN News.

The group disputed the agency's claim that Pax Silica would not displace farmers and Indigenous Peoples, pointing to reports that residents of barangays O'Donnell, Aranguren, and Santa Lucia in Capas, Tarlac have already been identified as project-affected persons.

What do you think?

Sources: PCO, BCDA, Via: ABS-CBN News