‘PBB: Celebrity Collab Edition’ Kapamilya Big Winner Brent Manalo voiced his opposition to the controversial Pax Silica.
The actor and host of ‘It’s Showtime’ posted on his X account to condemn the construction of Pax Silica, an artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor industrial hub, in New Clark City, Tarlac.
Like some residents in the area, Brent is opposed to the project because of its potential impact on farmers and the agricultural sector, even though it is expected to provide many jobs.
‘NO TO PAX SILICA. Tarlac heavily relies on agriculture for its sustenance and marami sa magsasaka namin ang posibleng marelocate at mawalan ng kabuhayan dahil dito,” he wrote. ‘And this is just one of the many risks it poses. The 1.6k-hectare AI hub promises to be innovative, but at what cost?’ he added.
Brent also spoke about the issue in an episode of ‘It’s Showtime.’
He told Vice Ganda: ‘Marami pong hindi nakakaalam niyan, Meme. ‘Yung nangyayari ngayon, ‘yung Pax Silica, 1,600 hectares of land ang makakamkam if ever man na matuloy ‘yung proyekto.’
Pax Silica is part of a Philippine-American initiative to develop a 1,600-hectare AI and semiconductor hub in New Clark City, Capas, Tarlac.
In his fifth State of the Nation Address on Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. briefly cited the Pax Silica Industrial Hub as one of the administration’s priority projects, saying it would create an ecosystem with AI at its core.
Marcos said the hub, a component of the Luzon Economic Corridor, would serve as an advanced manufacturing and logistics center in the global AI and technology value chain.
The project is part of the 23-member, US-led Pax Silica Initiative, which was launched in Washington in December 2025 to help secure supply chains for AI, semiconductors and critical minerals. The Philippines joined the initiative in April, with a formal agreement expected to be signed in November.
The government has allotted around 1,620 hectares in New Clark City for the proposed hub, saying it would generate jobs and help position the Philippines as a regional center for AI development.
But the project has also drawn opposition from farmers’ groups, environmental advocates and Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, which have raised concerns over the possible displacement of communities, the projected power and water requirements of data centers, possible mining expansion and the project’s environmental impact.