Labor groups, environmentalists, and indigenous communities facing displacement risks are aggressively pushing back against the plan to build the high-value Pax Silica AI industrial hub.

Red flags have been raised over the looming strain on New Clark City’s water, land, and power supplies. Concerns have intensified since the United States (US)-led coalition began ramping up efforts to bring the plan to fruition. Manila is seeking to finalize a framework agreement with Washington for the hub within the second half of 2026.

Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took pride in this development, stating during his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) that the entry of Pax Silica promises to bring in quality jobs, accelerate the country’s industrial competitiveness, and revitalize an otherwise ailing economy. President Marcos detailed that the hub will serve as an “advanced manufacturing and logistics center in global AI and technology.”

Some localized disruptions might be shrugged off by the government—but what if the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) own stake is on the line?

Before the economy-crippling pandemic, the BSP and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) entered into a deal to relocate the BSP Security Plant Complex (SPC) from Quezon City to New Clark City—the exact location where the tech hub is set to emerge.

Once completed, will the new currency production facility and gold refinery be insulated from the potential risks borne by the hub, or will it eventually end up competing for resources hogged by Pax Silica?

BSP Deputy Governor Elmore Capule described national facilities, including the BSP’s, as equipped with business continuity features designed to weather unfavorable conditions, though he cautioned that “nothing is fail-proof.”

“Our security facilities have robust business continuity features like power and water contingencies,” Capule, who heads the BSP corporate services sector, told Manila Bulletin, noting that these national sites are “much more hardened than other facilities.”

Reports indicate that the country’s major infrastructure contractors have been swarming the contract, which has been up for grabs since 2025. By scale, the ₱40-billion, 31.3-hectare security complex represents roughly two percent of the 1,620-hectare Pax Silica tech hub.

Detailed construction plans are “already complete,” Capule said, though a target date for the groundbreaking remains unavailable pending the outcome of public bidding.

“It depends on whether we can secure and award the project to a building contractor through public bidding,” he said, adding that the relocation will take a minimum of three years, with an initial target of 2028—coinciding with the year Marcos steps down from office.

In 2021, the BSP signed a 50-year lease agreement with the BCDA, with an option to renew for another 25 years.

The BCDA ealrier stated that the complex would “ensure uninterrupted BSP operations during disruptions such as natural disasters.” However, man-made risks and industrial strain were not part of the equation when the plans were originally drafted.

Capule told Manila Bulletin that the BSP had not factored in the potential long-term heightened risks tied to Pax Silica, given that the government could allow the hub to lease the land for up to 99 years.

“Sorry, we have not considered that because it was not part of the equation when we designed the BSP complex in New Clark City,” he said. Meanwhile, the BSP’s planned transfer has already cleared environmental requirements.

“For the BSP’s part, the complex is a low-rise facility situated on a large tract of land and fully compliant with environmental clearances and pollution control requirements,” Capule said.

While Pax Silica was not initially taken into account, the BSP may have to conduct a closer review if the mega-project proceeds as intended. “We may have to take a look if this private project will push through,” Capule said.

Companies in the industrial zone are expected to draw an estimated 5,000 megawatts from Luzon’s coal-dependent grid.

Pax Silica’s planned electricity consumption would be massive by any standard. Its estimated power requirement would account for nearly one-third of Luzon’s projected peak demand of around 15,600 megawatts in 2026.

Pax Silica will need more than just a steady pipeline of technology firms setting up shop; equally critical will be securing ample electricity to power operations reliably without straining the country’s already stretched energy grid—not to mention that the Philippines is currently grappling with energy supply vulnerabilities linked to geopolitical hostilities in the Middle East.

Capule declined to assume that the BSP would automatically stand on opposing ends of the spectrum should the hub prove to be a threat to neighboring facilities in the industrial zone.

“I cannot speculate on [the BSP’s future position]—but once things firm up, the BSP will have to assess everything,” Capule said.

Meanwhile, the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), manager of the Philippines’ sovereign wealth fund, is keeping its capital off Pax Silica, noting that this foreign investor ecosystem will not require capital injections from the nascent fund manager.

MIC President and Chief Executive Officer Rafael D. Consing Jr. said during a recent roundtable that he is in discussions with the BCDA, emphasizing that Maharlika could serve as an aggregation vehicle to help deploy external capital rather than committing its own funds.

“I don’t think our capital is needed. I really don’t think it’s needed,” Consing said. “It’s a whole-of-government, multi-agency effort, but not in terms of capital because we’re hoping to attract that through foreign direct investment (FDI).”

Furthermore, MIC maintains a hands-off approach to Pax Silica, according to Consing. He explained, however, that the state’s role is to facilitate inter-institutional collaboration to help secure permits and build out necessary infrastructure.

MIC’s specific role will need to be clearly defined before it onboards, he noted. To date, concrete details regarding the project’s execution remain scarce.