No technology transfer with Pax Silica, just waste — scientists' group

Pax Silica will take up large amounts of the country’s water and energy without leaving any technology to the Philippines, scientists’ group Agham said on Friday.

On Balitanghali, Agham spokesperson Giovanni Tapang said their group rejected the Pax Silica initiative because it brought no genuine progress.

“Walang nakasulat dito na technology transfer. Walang nakasulat dito na magiging sa atin 'yung mga technologies na nandiyan. Tayo ay magpaparenta lang ng lupa, tayo ay pupuntahan nila para i-process dito 'yung mga minerals dito pero iiwan din sa atin 'yung mga waste,” Tapang said.

(There is nothing written here about technology transfer, nothing written here about the technologies being created there becoming ours. We are renting out the land; they will come here to process minerals and they will leave the waste here.)

“It will use a lot of water, it will use a lot of electricity: is this the kind of progress that we want?” he added in Filipino.

Tapang also questioned the government;’s claim that around 130,000 jobs will be created. When it comes to building the actual facilities, that number made sense. However, actual data centers do not require that many people to maintain it.

Moreover, will the workers of Pax Silica actually create things that benefitted other Filipinos? Tapang doubted it.

“It will make mineral processing, and we will export the final process. We will not use and create the chips,” Tapang said in Filipino.

Tapang likened it to Intel Philippines, an electronic firm that established operations with the promise of turning the country into an electronics giant. But the company ceased its operations and left without any technology transfer, he said.

It also begged the question why the government did not try to at least negotiate for the Philippines to take ownership of Pax Silica’s technology, Tapang said.

The government has staunchly defended the Pax Silica initiative despite mounting concerns from activist and environmental groups. It claims that Pax Silica will mainly use renewable energy, but many have decried the lack of transparency surrounding the process.

EXPLAINER: What is Pax Silica and why are people worried?

On Thursday, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said the government will put into consideration all concerns regarding Pax Silica, specifically pertaining to how it may affect the country’s water and electricity supplies.

“May chance po na mabago ang ibang mga provisions kung ano po ‘yung maaari pang mas maging maganda ang idulot sa ating mga kababayan, sa bansang Pilipinas, and of course sa mga partners. ‘Yun naman po ay isasaalang-alang,” she said in a Palace briefing.

(There’s a possibility that some provisions could be changed to yield better outcomes for our citizens, the country, and of course our partners. That will be taken into consideration.)

Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda likewise also told reporters in a press chat on Thursday that modern data centers utilize water-efficient cooling technologies like water recycling and desalination.

Previously, the Kalikasan and Makabayan bloc raised concerns over Pax Silica's potential environmental and social impacts, with Kalikasan National coordinator Cathleen De Guzman stressing that assurances of environmental protection should be backed by rigorous scientific studies. — Jean Mangaluz/LA, GMA News