20/05/2026
Bayan Muna: Rejection of US bid to turn AI hub into US territory exposes scheme's real purpose—military dominance and resource plunder
Former Bayan Muna Party-list Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate today warned that the Philippine government's rejection of the United States' proposal to place the planned 1,619-hectare "Pax Silica" artificial intelligence hub in New Clark City under American law—while granting diplomatic immunity to US personnel assigned there—exposes the true military nature of the project.
"This so-called US 'AI initiative' is really a thinly disguised bid to secure a forward military-industrial platform for war production and to plunder the country's strategic mineral resources, not to foster genuine technological development," Zarate said.
"The US wanted to carve out a piece of Philippine territory where Philippine laws simply would not apply—a state within a state. Had our government granted that, the flag and constitution we honor would be meaningless inside those 4,000 acres," Zarate added. "The fact that they even dared to ask for such sweeping extraterritorial privileges reveals their true colors: Pax Silica is not about economic development, but about securing a military beachhead to counter China."
On May 18, during his visit to the proposed site, US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg pressed for unprecedented legal protections that would effectively remove the hub from Philippine jurisdiction. Under the rejected scheme, the facility would have been designated as diplomatic property—similar to an embassy—operating under US common law with protections analogous to diplomatic immunity, a concept typically reserved for foreign missions under the Vienna Convention, not commercial industrial zones.
Zarate stressed that this rejection should be the beginning—not the end—of public scrutiny.
"Why was this secret proposal even on the table in the first place? What other backdoor deals are being negotiated behind closed doors? The fact that the US demanded such sweeping powers shows they see the Philippines not as a partner, but as a colony—a place where their corporations can operate above our Constitution," Zarate said.
Furthermore, Zarate pointed out that the Pax Silica project is not intended to build factories for consumer gadgets. "This is about positioning the Philippines as a key node in America's war machine in the Asia-Pacific region. The legal overreach they demanded—Philippine territory under US law—would have meant that US personnel and corporations operating there could commit crimes against our people with impunity. Is this the kind of 'partnership' we want?" Zarate warned.
"The US is not here to help us industrialize. They are here to strip our resources, lock us into dependency, and use our land as a forward staging ground for their geopolitical war against China. The Philippine government must reject the entire Pax Silica framework, not just its most egregious legal provisions," Zarate insisted.
"Huwag nating hintayin na maging huli ang lahat. We should expose every document, every agreement, and every backroom deal that the US has forced upon our government," Zarate said.
Pax Silica is a US Department of State flagship program launched in December 2025. The Philippines joined as the 13th signatory on April 16, 2026. The proposed 1,619-hectare industrial hub in New Clark City—located within the US-backed Luzon Economic Corridor—would be the first "AI-native industrial acceleration hub" under the initiative.
