Investors under the Philippines’ proposed Pax Silica projects will be expected to provide their own roads, power and water, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo told lawmakers during a House budget briefing.
Rodolfo made the statement after FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-list Rep. Brian Poe raised questions about technology transfer, workers’ wages, electricity, water supply, and mineral extraction under the initiative.
Poe said knowledge transfer was among the key issues he wanted clarified, noting that the Philippines should gain expertise from its transactions with foreign partners.
‘We don’t want to just use it and learn nothing from our transactions with the United States and other nationalities,’ Poe said, asking the DTI to provide lawmakers with more details on how technology transfer would be incorporated into the agreements.
Rodolfo said knowledge transfer was being discussed. He said New Clark City was selected for the first project partly because institutions in the area, including the University of the Philippines Open University and Philippine Science High School, were already preparing projects that could help the country absorb new technologies.
Poe also asked whether workers in Pax Silica facilities would receive fair and internationally competitive wages.
Rodolfo said all locators would have to comply with Philippine labor laws and could pay higher than locally mandated wages, based on practices in other economic zones.
The lawmaker then asked about the project’s potential impact on electricity supply, particularly whether additional demand from industries under Pax Silica could raise consumers’ electricity bills.
‘Ang takot ng mga kababayan natin ay tataas ba ang electricity bill ko dahil sa Pax Silica?’ Poe said.
He also raised concerns about the amount of water the industries could consume, particularly in the event of a prolonged dry spell.
”Yung tubig na kailangan natin, are they going to consume it all?’ Poe asked.
Rodolfo responded that the infrastructure approach would require investors to provide their own roads and power and secure and reuse their own water. ‘Build your own roads, bring your own power, and secure and reuse your own water,’ Rodolfo said.
He said the New Clark City project would focus on advanced manufacturing rather than data centers and that the Bases Conversion and Development Authority had conducted an assessment of the area’s energy requirements.
On water, Rodolfo said possible solutions include securing surface water and rainwater through impounding facilities. Desalination is also being explored.
He cited discussions involving a Middle Eastern company that had proposed building a desalination facility in Subic and transporting water to Clark through a pipeline. Rodolfo said the roughly 75-kilometer distance was manageable based on infrastructure practices in the Middle East.
Poe said the clarification was important because the public’s concerns centered on whether Pax Silica could place additional pressure on basic utilities.
‘I’m glad that the Undersecretary from DTI has been able to explain to us that all these things are being taken care of already by those who want to invest in our country,’ Poe said.
‘As he said, bring your own energy, bring your own water.’
Poe also asked about mineral extraction, noting that the United States has long sought agreements involving access to critical minerals but that Pax Silica could allow extraction and processing to take place in the Philippines.
Rodolfo said mining and mineral processing had not yet been discussed in detail but would form part of future negotiations aimed at securing supply chains and increasing the value of Philippine mineral exports.
He said mining and processing would not take place in Clark and would instead be conducted near the mines, potentially in Mindanao.
Rodolfo assured lawmakers that mining, processing, and industrial operations would remain subject to Philippine environmental and other applicable laws. Locators in Clark would also be required to secure environmental compliance certificates.
Poe urged the DTI to keep Congress informed about the terms of the agreement before it is signed.
Rodolfo said November was being considered as a target for the signing, although he stressed that the timetable could change if the negotiations were not ready.
The House briefing comes as lawmakers continue to scrutinize the proposed budget for the DTI.