House Committee on Appropriations Vice Chairman Palawan 2nd district Rep. Jose "Pepito" Alvarez has framed the Pax Silica hub as a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity that the Philippines would be ill-advised to ignore.

Alvarez had this to say Wednesday, Aug. 26, during the committee’s hearing on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' (DENR) P28.041-billion budget under the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP).

"This is a chance in a lifetime, we must get this," the veteran solon said after the topic was brought up in the budget briefing, in relation to potenrial environmental concerns.

Pax Silica is a major proposed industrial-development program involving artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, critical minerals, advanced manufacturing, data infrastructure, and logistics. The Philippines joined the United States (US)-led technology and supply-chain initiative in April 2026.

The planned local hub features a 4,000-acre Economic Security Zone proposed for Central Luzon, such as New Clark City and Tarlac.

Alvarez says the Pax Silica hub--even with its vaunted 60-million liters water requirement--shouldn't strike fear among Filipinos.

"For the information of the public. Yun naman Pax Silica, this is a chance and a lifetime. At yung kinatatakutan natin na 60 million liters ang kailangan sa isang araw, kung i-combine mo yung discharges ng all Zambales rivers into the ocean every second is equivalent to that 60 million liters. That's only equivalent to 60,000 cubic meters," he said.

(Pax Silica is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And regarding our concern that 60 million liters of water would be needed per day, if you combine the discharge of all the rivers in Zambales flowing into the ocean, the amount discharged every second is equivalent to that 60 million liters. That is only equivalent to 60,000 cubic meters.)

"Yun lang yung lahat ng lumalabas sa lahat ng ilog ng Zambales. Kaya huwag matakot yung ating publiko dito sa Pax Silica. Just a small information kasi water is my forte," added Alvarez, also chairman of the Committee on Energy.

(That’s all the water flowing out from all the rivers in Zambales. So, our public should not be afraid of Pax Silica.)

However, Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co said the concern on Pax Silica wasn't limited to the water requirement.

“Marami pong may concern po sa Pax Silica dahil aside from tubig, sa kuryente, sa lupa, marami pong compounded concerns ’yan. And we are looking at DENR to resolve some of these concerns,” Co said.

(Many people have concerns about Pax Silica because, aside from water, there are also concerns about electricity, land, and many other compounded issues.)

Meanwhile, the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Region 3 has told solons that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is currently being conducted for Pax Silica.

EMB Region 3 Regional Director Martin Jose Despi says there has been no formal application for an EIA because there are still no concrete details about the project.

According to Despi, the EMB and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) have only been conducting preliminary coordination to discuss the possible project.

The official assured that once the EIA begins, the necessary public consultations will be conducted, along with studies on the project’s potential impact on the environment and surrounding communities.