Key facts
- The Philippines is planning a 1,620-hectare Pax Silica technology hub near a former American base, according to the report.
- Marcos urged about 600 investors, industry leaders and officials at a US-sponsored Manila forum to put money into the US-led scheme.
- Five people were arrested outside Manila's Grand Hyatt hotel as hundreds of activists clashed with anti-riot police.
- Ayta chieftain Nelson De Guzman disputed BCDA president Joshua Bingcang's statement that no Indigenous community would be affected.
- The State Department describes Pax Silica as its flagship effort on super intelligence and supply chain security, launched in December 2025.
The Philippines is planning a 1,620-hectare (4,000-acre) Pax Silica technology hub near a former American base, according to the report. President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr urged about 600 investors, industry leaders and officials at a US-sponsored forum in Manila to put their money into the US-led scheme.
Outside the Grand Hyatt hotel in Manila earlier in 2026, five people were arrested as hundreds of activists chanting "Junk Pax Silica!" clashed with anti-riot police, the report said.
The US State Department launched the initiative in December 2025 and describes it as its flagship effort on super intelligence and supply chain security, aimed at securing semiconductor and critical minerals supply chains among more than 20 allies, Newsweek reported.
Opposition has built through 2026. An artist group produced by the Concerned Artists of the Philippines launched the anti-Pax Silica anthem "Get Off Our Lands" on November 6 at a solidarity night, Bulatlat reported, with a documentary music video featuring the Ayta community in Sitio Kalangitan.
Ayta elders attended and rejected the initiative. Chieftain Nelson De Guzman disputed a statement by Bases Conversion and Development Authority president Joshua Bingcang that no Indigenous community would be affected, saying no proper consultation was conducted. Bulatlat reported that around 20,000 peasants and 15,000 Ayta could be displaced once the hub is established on land in Tarlac.
Student groups and GABRIELA, a political organization for women in the Philippines, have staged protests in Philippine cities in July, August and September, Newsweek reported. Further protest actions are planned for November 16 and 17, as Trump is due in the Philippines for the ASEAN Summit running November 16-18.