THE Senate Environment committee on Friday opened hearings on the ambitious Pax Silica complex in Central Luzon, touted to prime the economy and provide jobs, but saddled with criticism that it would pollute and displace communities and disrupt already scarce water and energy supplies in the region.
‘We hope that these hearings can be the venue for full transparency,’ Sen. Bam Aquino said in his opening statement at the hearing, presided over by Environment panel chairman Sen. Raffy Tulfo.
He thanked Tulfo ‘for doing the hearing at the soonest possible time,’ even as several other committees-including Aquino’s Committee on Trade and Industry had expressed interest-to look into the matter and ease people’s worries about Pax Silica’s adverse impacts, just two months before its announced signing in November.
‘So whether we will do this together or separately in the future, rest assured there will be hearings to clarify to the people and affected communities what the plans really entail, what the outcomes are, and what safeguards are being put in place for the affected areas,’ Aquino said, speaking partly in Filipino.
Aquino himself hails from Tarlac, bailiwick of the political clan that has produced two Philippine presidents.
He expressed hope his push for ‘full transparency’ will be fulfilled by the hearings, given the contrasting versions of what the plans are.
Government has said the core of the undertaking is the setting up of mineral processing facilities that will end the country’s failure to use its abundant resources to process ores and be able to sell high-value products, instead of merely exporting low-value, unprocessed minerals.
Aquino asked officials to answer questions on how many farmers will be affected, how many indigenous peoples (IP) communities could be banished from their ancestral domain.
He noted the lament of the Capas town mayor that no consultations were conducted with local governments and communities before the announcement of the project. A big chunk of Capas will be affected, he noted.
‘So we know that there have been meetings in the last few weeks, but we hope that the hearings here in the Senate can be the venue for that,’ Aquino said.
Second, he said, ‘there has to be a better way forward. With our goals towards industrialization, providing more jobs, advanced manufacturing,’ there is a need ‘to make sure that there’s a better way forward when it comes to progress in our country.’
It is vital to modernize key industries, he acknowledged, ‘but we must make sure no one’ is left behind, especially the ‘most vulnerable and marginalized’ like farmers and the IP.
BCDA officials for their part assured senators that there will be no regulatory shortcuts, and they will make sure that investors are aware of local rules and policies and will abide.
Also at the hearing, the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Director Michael Matias said they had suggested a wastewater treatment facility for Pax Silica as an indispensable feature of the project.
Officials of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said a wastewater treatment is already in place, but they are still ‘considering’ the capacity, i.e., if it is enough.
Senator Tulfo stressed that this matter should be finalized this early.
BCDA also assured the Senate panel that investors will invest in their own power and water systems.
For his part, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan acknowledged the ‘potential opportunities’ earlier cited by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, especially the chance to graduate from being mere exporters of raw minerals to being part of advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence or AI enterprises.
He said the prospect of creating thousands of quality jobs and boosting the country’s position in strategic global supply chains is a decisive consideration in Pax Silica.
But, he added, there is a need to ensure this early that the grand promises don’t turn out to be empty ones. The promised technology transfer, the safeguards against pollution, displacement and environmental disruptions must be carried out, he stressed.