Gov't won't spend anything on Pax Silica hub development, says BCDA

The Philippine government will not spend anything on the development of the planned Pax Silica hub in Capas, Tarlac, according to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and CEO Joshua Bingcang on Friday.

During the Senate hearing on Pax Silica, Bingcang said that the BCDA had no financial participation in the development.

“Yung sa 1,600 [hectares] nakikita namin wala po. Ang ipo-provide lang po ang lupa po. But they want the ecosystem. Kaya mayroong iba, mag-iinvest ng power. Mayroong iba, mag-iinvest in water,” Bingcang said when asked by Sen. Bam Aquino how much the government will spend on the facilities.

(In the 1,6000 hectares, we do not see any. Only land will be provided. But they want the ecosystem. So some want to invest in power. Others want to invest in water.)

The only expenses will be to address the social welfare issues raised by the locals, Bingcan said.

Bingcang explained that it will be the investors who will shoulder everything,

“It's either a lease or a joint venture, but the capital will come from the foreign investors,” the BCDA chief said.

However, Bingcang said that the development plan is still with the investors. The Philippine side will only see clearer details once they hand over the plans in six months. The plans will then be subjected to regulatory standards.

The BCDA could only provide the meets and bounds for now, Bingcang said. However, he maintained that there will be no AI hub in the facilities, and it will only build the components for the creation of AI hubs.

Lack of consultation

During the hearing, Capas Municipal Mayor Roseller Rodriguez called out the BCDA for a lack of consultation with local officials over the planned Pax Silica hub in their town.

“Wala po nangyaring consultation. Ang nangyari lang po, June 22, iniinvite po kami for a meeting without specifying ano po yung agenda,” Rodriguez said when asked by Sen. Kiko Pangilinan.

(There was no consultation. What happened was on June 22, we were invited to a meeting without a specific agenda.)

The mayor said while there was a meeting with BCDA, details of a supposed technological hub were not discussed.

Bingcang said that they were supposed to have a consultation but it was canceled. They are scheduled to have a consultation on August 19.

Another meeting has also been set with all the governors and mayors in Region III on August 26.

A local chieftain also said that around 1,000 indigenous people (IP) fear displacement because of the Pax Silica.

“Mahigit po kami na 1,000 talaga, so ang lahat-lahat po, ang census namin talaga duoon sa Sapang Kawayan, nasa 1,000 po kami,” Sapang Kawayan chieftain Petroniza Capriz-Muñoz said.

(It is really 1,000, so all in all, our census in Sapang Kawayan is 1,000.)

Prior to Capriz-Muñoz’s clarification, the BCDA admitted that while the Pax Silica was not technically being built on ancestral land, there were some “settlers” in the area.

“There are 14 households… now it has probably increased, so maybe 30,” Bingcang said in Filipino.—AOL, GMA News