Vice President Sara Duterte demurred on giving a statement regarding the proposed United States-backed Pax Silica initiative during an interview in The Hague.
Appearing unfamiliar with the planned US-led semiconductor and artificial intelligence partnership in the Philippines, Duterte requested clarification on the initiative’s name before withholding any formal response.
“Pax Silic? Fax Silic? Wala. I cannot comment on that,” Duterte told reporters at The Hague.
The project was recently championed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his fifth State of the Nation Address, where he highlighted Pax Silica’s potential to generate high-quality jobs and elevate the nation’s economic competitiveness by establishing an AI-centric industrial hub.
However, environmental and advocacy groups have expressed strong opposition to the plan, raising concerns that it paves the way for foreign resource exploitation, environmental harm, and minimal progress toward true national industrialization.
The ambitious development spans roughly 1,618 to 1,620 hectares in New Clark City, Pampanga—a footprint nearly 38 to 39 times the size of the SM Mall of Asia Complex.
The Philippine and United States governments aim to formally sign a major framework agreement for the initiative this coming November.