“Semiconductors and advanced electronics are central to contemporary warfare, embedded in drones, missile systems, surveillance networks, and communications infrastructure.”
CAGAYAN DE ORO — Progressive groups and lawmakers strongly opposed the Philippines’ participation in a United States-led initiative that aims to secure global technology supply chains.
For them, the Philippine government’s involvement under the “Pax Silica” initiative positioned the country to become part of “war production.”
The Philippine government signed the declaration on April 16, 2026, making the country as the 13th Pax Silica signatory. Under the partnership, the Philippines and the US planned to establish a 1,620-hectare Luzon Economic Corridor, calling it the first “AI-native industrial acceleration hub” under the initiative.
The announcement, however, did not specify the exact locations covered.
The site is being branded as an economic security zone, aiming to strengthen shared supply chains in critical minerals, semiconductors, electronics, and other goods. This follows the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the Philippines and the US on February 4, 2026, to diversify global critical mineral supply chains.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), a multi-sectoral alliance, perceived the initiative as “military requirements” rather than national development, considering the essential function of semiconductors—the Philippines’ reported top export—in manufacturing military machinery.
“Semiconductors and advanced electronics are central to contemporary warfare, embedded in drones, missile systems, surveillance networks, and communications infrastructure,” the group said in a statement.
Read:Philippines as a US military base?
US Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg said the economic security zone to be built in the country helps to ensure that the materials that the US depends on come from a “trusted ally,” avoiding the possible weaponization of its dependence.
On January 14, 2026, US President Donald Trump issued a proclamation adjusting the imports of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and their derived products to their country. This came after the secretary of commerce found in an investigation last year that the present quantities and circumstances of imports of these products and equipment pose a threat to their economy and national security.
The probe also showed that the US, based on its manufacturing capability, could not meet the projected need for semiconductors, which are crucial for its military strength. According to the same proclamation, the US remained heavily dependent on foreign supply, as it can only manufacture approximately 10 percent of the semiconductors it requires.
Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment said the Pax Silica initiative and the MOU on critical minerals mean opening the Philippine mountains, watersheds, and ancestral domains to intensify extraction. It criticized the Marcos Jr. administration for finalizing the partnership this Earth Month.
The initiative is also seen as an undertaking that could worsen land grabbing, according to the farmers’ group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas.
Party-list representatives Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers, Sarah Jane Elago of Gabriela Women’s Party, and Renee Louise Co of Kabataan called for full transparency and congressional scrutiny over the Pax Silica initiative, including all arrangements related to critical minerals.
“The public must know whether these facilities are being set up as dual-use platforms that can be repurposed for war logistics and militarized supply prepositioning,” lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc said in a joint statement. (RVO)
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