The Philippines should demand firm commitments on technology transfer, skills development, and local value creation before supporting the proposed Pax Silica initiative, experts said during a recent University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) Law School lecture.
The initiative could help the country move beyond lower-value semiconductor assembly and raw-material exports, but its potential benefits would depend on how the government negotiates and regulates foreign investments, the speakers said.
The lecture held on Aug. 7, titled “Pax Silica, Geopolitics, and the Philippines in the Global Supply Chain,” examined the initiative’s implications for constitutional law, industrial policy, environmental governance and geopolitics.
CirroLytix business development and policy analyst Ivan Pulanco said the Philippines has an opportunity to participate in more advanced manufacturing, engineering and mineral processing as countries compete for semiconductors, critical minerals and computing infrastructure.
However, Pulanco said these gains would not happen automatically. He argued that the government should use the country’s position to secure commitments covering skills training, technology transfer, infrastructure, community safeguards and the retention of more economic value in the Philippines.
CirroLytix founder Dominic Ligot, meanwhile, cautioned against exaggerated claims about the initiative’s expected impact on data centers, mining and employment.
He said policymakers must still address questions involving electricity and water consumption, industrial waste, land use, job quality and the share of economic benefits that would remain in the country.
Cocolife president and CEO Jose Martin Loon discussed constitutional restrictions on foreign participation in the development of Philippine natural resources.
He said foreign investment is not necessarily unconstitutional if the state retains ownership, control, and supervision.
Loon added that resource development must remain consistent with environmental protection, Philippine sovereignty and the national interest.
UA&P Law School dean Jeremy Gatdula also raised questions about whether policies and investment commitments could be sustained across administrations, as well as the effects of incentives and tariffs.
The speakers said the debate should not be reduced to outright support for or opposition to Pax Silica. The central issue, they said, is whether the Philippines can negotiate terms and enforce safeguards that translate foreign investment into stronger domestic capabilities and long-term economic value.
