No clear project description, eco assessment yet for Pax Silica – DENR

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Wednesday admitted that there is no clear project description, locator, or environmental impact assessment (EIA) yet for the proposed artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced manufacturing hub under the Pax Silica initiative, raising questions about how aggressively the project is being pushed before environmental checks begin.

The project is supposed to be built on the 1,620-hectare site in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.

Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the DENR has yet to receive any application to conduct an EIA for Pax Silica.

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“There’s been no environmental impact assessment applied for or processed, Mr. Chair, at this time,” Cuna said during the House committee’s budget hearing when asked by Kabataan party-list Rep. Renee Co about the project.

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“In fact, there’s no clear project description, actually, that we are aware of at this time. So, for us to be able to intelligently assess any environmental impact, the project description should be clear. But as of now, there has been none that has been submitted to the EMB (Environmental Management Bureau),” he added,

READ: How Pax Silica’s AI data centers could heat Central Luzon farms

According to the DENR’s EMB Director Michael Drake Matias, they issued an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for its master plan of the entire 9,400 hectares of New Clark City. 

“May mga zoning po na inindicate doon. Either commercial, mayroon pong pang-residential, mayroon pong pang-open parks, and so on. Ito po yung kabuuan ng New Clark City,” he explained.

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(There are zonings indicated there. Either commercial, some residential, some open parks, and so on. This is the entirety of New Clark City.)

However, Matias noted that the BCDA’s master plan for New Clark City’s 1,600 hectares—reportedly intended for the Pax Silica project—did not indicate a specific project.

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Should a certain project be indicated in the area, another EIA will be conducted, he said.

The DENR official also said that they have yet to start the process of conducting an EIA for Pax Silica since “there are no concrete details about it yet.”

“Sa ngayon po, meron pong mga coordination, just to brief us on what potentially could be the project kasi wala pa rin pong malinaw na locators kung sino ang pupwesto doon [1,600 hectares] kasi ngayon po puro intent pa lang po din ang nakukuha ni BCDA from other potential locators according po sa information nila,” he explained.

(Right now, there are coordinations, just to brief us on what potentially could be the project because there are still no clear locators who will be located there [1,600 hectares] because right now, BCDA is only getting intent from other potential locators according to their information.)

But he assured Co that public participation and consultation are included in their process of conducting EIAs, saying that “social acceptability” is also needed for every government project.

Co asked the DENR to accomplish a study or written opinion regarding the environmental effects of a data center or a semiconductor manufacturing facility while there is no EIA for Pax Silica yet.

Matias replied, “We will try our best to provide the needed information if we have it.”

“Chance of a lifetime”

After Co’s interpellation, House Committee on Appropriations Chair Jose Alvarez said that the Pax Silica is a chance of a lifetime.

“Yung tinatakot natin na 60 million liters ang kailangan sa isang araw, kung i-combine mo yung discharge 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, which is one Panamax. Parang itong building na ito. Yan lang ang per second na lumalabas na lahat ng ilog ng Zambales,” Alvarez said.

(When we are afraid that 60 million liters are needed in a day, if you combine the discharge of all Zambales rivers into the ocean, every second is equivalent to that 60 million liters. That’s only equivalent to 60,000 cubic meters, which is one Panamax. It’s like this building. That’s all that’s coming out of all the rivers of Zambales per second.)

“Kaya huwag matakot yung ating public dyan sa Pax Silica. This is a chance in a lifetime. We must get this,” he added.

(So don’t be afraid, our public in Paxilica. This is a chance in a lifetime. We must get this.)

Co, meanwhile, pointed out that many people are raising concerns about Pax Silica due to various issues regarding water, land, electricity, and other compounded concerns.

“Yung concerns naman po na ito, hindi ito in a vacuum lang. Everywhere else in the world, may mga concerns na po on data centers,” the Kabataan representative said, citing cases in other countries about the negative effect of the initiative.

(These concerns are not in a vacuum. Everywhere else in the world, there are concerns about data centers.)

READ: BCDA: No gov’t financing needed for 1,600-hectare Pax Silica hub

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The Makabayan bloc recently said the planned hub would need around five gigawatts of electricity, which would supposedly put pressure on the already fragile power grid of the Philippines. /gsg