Philippine laws will govern Pax Silica hub, officials tell lawmakers
Negotiations with the US remain under way, with no firm signing date for the legal framework covering the planned New Clark City industrial hub.
The planned US-led Pax Silica hub in New Clark City, Tarlac, will be subject to Philippine law, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) told a House committee on November 11. Its president and CEO, Joshua “Jake” Bingcang, said the Philippines would retain sovereignty over the project.
Bingcang was answering a question from Kabataan Party-list Representative Renee Luis Co about a supposed joint-governance provision in the proposed legal framework. He identified the Investor’s Lease Act and the BCDA law as the Philippine legislation that would apply.
Discussions between Philippine and US negotiators are continuing, Bingcang said, and a signing date has not been set. The Department of Trade and Industry nevertheless expressed optimism that the framework could be signed by the end of 2026.
Philippine officials are expected to seek an explicit provision protecting the country’s sovereignty over Pax Silica projects in New Clark City. The provision would also state that expatriate employees in the area would not have diplomatic immunity.
Under the initiative, Manila and Washington are working on a 4,000-acre industrial hub within the Luzon Economic Corridor, envisaged as a model for AI-focused investment. Bingcang previously said the plan was for an industrial hub, rather than a concentration of hyperscale data centres, with manufacturing of semiconductors and microchips among its activities.
Pax Silica is a US Department of State initiative addressing artificial intelligence and supply chain security. The Philippines formally joined in April.
