By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos | Philippine News Agency
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday described the Pax Silica initiative as a “good deal,” saying the Philippines would support arrangements that promote investments and stimulate economic growth.
Speaking at the presidential luncheon hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) at the Diamond Hotel Philippines in Manila, President Marcos Jr. said the Philippines is open to partnerships with any country and does not view investment opportunities as an “either-or” choice between nations.
“Whenever someone is interested to come into the Philippines to invest, so long as it is to the mutual benefit of all parties involved, that for us is a good deal. And it is a good deal that we will enter into, no matter where it comes from,” he said.
Marcos Jr. said the Philippines would welcome collaboration with the United States, European countries, China, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Australia.
He said the government’s priority is to ensure that investments benefit Filipinos through job creation, skills development, technology transfer, and training.
He said the government would consider arrangements that could help expand the economy and improve the lives of Filipinos.
“And so long as we are able to move the economy forward and to better the lives of our people, then that is something that we will certainly examine,” Marcos Jr. said.
“And if it turns out that that is a beneficial agreement or arrangement, then certainly we will become part of it.”
Mineral processing
The President also assured that his administration would not allow other countries to exploit Philippine mineral resources without a formal agreement.
He cited the potential to process minerals, such as nickel, locally so that more of the value generated from processing remains in the Philippines.
“This provides us an opportunity to start the processing in the Philippines,” Marcos Jr. said.
“Now, to be able to do that, you have to develop a processing center. You have to provide power for that processing center. And if you cannot do it yourself, you do it in partnership with either a purely commercial venture or a G2G (government-to-government) arrangement or some hybrid arrangement.”
Pax Silica is a proposed high-tech manufacturing and innovation hub under the Luzon Economic Corridor. It aims to position the Philippines as a key player in global supply chains for semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and critical minerals.
The proposed development in New Clark City is expected to generate up to 190,000 high-quality jobs for Filipinos.
Once fully developed, the initiative could attract between $40 billion and $70 billion in investments, creating opportunities for Filipino engineers, researchers, computer science graduates, and other highly skilled professionals to build their careers in the country.
