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From Military Base to Pax Silica: Clark and Capas in Philippine History
Confirmed
In Short: The indigenous Aeta community in Sapang Kawayan, Capas, Philippines, is facing the threat of relocation as the Philippine government has approved the construction of the Pax Silica hub on a 4,000-acre area inside New Clark City.
The Aeta families, numbering about 200, have received letters from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) informing them they must leave their village because it is included in the development plan.
Maniego, a 72-year-old Aeta resident, expressed concern over the loss of their ancestral land, saying, 'We have lived for generations in the mountains long before the Americans came. What will happen to us if they take our land?'
Protests against the project have been organized, with one recent rally outside a hotel hosting a business forum about Pax Silica resulting in the arrest of five paralegals and the detention of nearly 30 others.
The Philippine government has assured the public that the country’s laws will prevail and no immunity will be granted to foreign investors in the hub.
The BCDA Group, which advances national development by transforming former military bases and properties into centers of economic growth, has allocated a 4,000-acre lot in New Clark City to serve as a Pax Silica Coordination Office.
The hub is part of the Luzon Economic Corridor and is expected to attract high-quality private sector investment, aligning with the Marcos administration’s ambition of establishing the Philippines as a regional AI powerhouse.
US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg emphasized that the Golden Node is about building the manufacturing ecosystems of the next century, anchored in the rule of law and integrated into a network of trusted nations.
Finance Secretary Frederick Go stated that by joining Pax Silica, the Philippines is ensuring that its mineral resources and strategic location are actively harnessed to build the industries of the future.
However, the Aeta community remains steadfast in their resolve to protect their land, with Maniego declaring, 'They should just have us killed because we will fight for our land.'
Background
The history of the Philippines dates from the earliest hominin activity in the archipelago at least by 709,000 years ago. Homo luzonensis, a species of archaic humans, was present on the island of Luzon at least by 134,000 years ago.
What's confirmed
- The Aeta families, numbering about 200, have received letters from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) informing them they must leave their village because it is included in the development plan.
- Protests against the project have been organized, with one recent rally outside a hotel hosting a business forum about Pax Silica resulting in the arrest of five paralegals and the detention of nearly 30 others.
- The Philippine government has assured the public that the country’s laws will prevail and no immunity will be granted to foreign investors in the hub.
- The BCDA Group, which advances national development by transforming former military bases and properties into centers of economic growth, has allocated a 4,000-acre lot in New Clark City to serve as a Pax Silica Coordination Office.
- The hub is part of the Luzon Economic Corridor and is expected to attract high-quality private sector investment, aligning with the Marcos administration’s ambition of establishing the Philippines as a regional AI powerhouse.
- US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg emphasized that the Golden Node is about building the manufacturing ecosystems of the next century, anchored in the rule of law and integrated into a network of trusted nations.
- Finance Secretary Frederick Go stated that by joining Pax Silica, the Philippines is ensuring that its mineral resources and strategic location are actively harnessed to build the industries of the future.
What's still developing
- CAPAS, Philippines - Children’s laughter and the gentle sound of a flowing river are the daily accompaniment to life in a hamlet of about 200 indigenous Aeta families, but members of the community told Radio Free Asia they are in danger of losing their idyllic way of life because a planned U.S.-led tech hub will force them to relocate.
- “I cannot see how another country can come into the Philippines and, for example, exploit our minerals without the agreement of our Philippine government,” Marcos said in August at a forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.
- Bingcang told media, including Philippine outlet ABS-CBN, on Monday.
- This was confirmed last April after the Philippines officially joined the Pax Silica coalition.
- Negotiations are ongoing and expected to continue for the next two years.
- In response, authorities said data centers will not be a component of the Pax Silica site, although these facilities will still rise in other parts of Luzon.
- It is part of the Clark special economic zone and also covers the municipalities of Capas and Bamban in the province of Tarlac.
- After the end of World War II, the Philippines became an independent republic but the U.S.
- The history of this place can help us better understand the political narratives in favor of and opposed to Pax Silica.
- Today, Clark is a strategic business center since it is only less than a two-hour drive from the capital region of Metro Manila.
- As the colonial ruler of the Philippines in the first half of the 20th century, the U.S.
- A 4,000-acre property within New Clark City has been earmarked as an artificial intelligence (AI) hub as the Philippines becomes the 13 th nation to join the Pax Silica Declaration, a United States-led initiative that seeks to build a secure, resilient, and innovation-driven silicon supply chain covering critical minerals, semiconductors, AI, and advanced manufacturing.