Students stage walkout vs. Trump visit, Pax Silica: 'We fight for our future'

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Student groups from different universities staged campus walkouts on Friday to protest the upcoming visit of US President Donald Trump for the ASEAN 2026 Summit and the America-led Pax Silica initiative.

At the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, students staged a campus walkout and rally to voice their indignation during what is called the National Youth Day of Action.

In a video report by Ian Cruz from UP Diliman, Kabataan Partylist Representative Renee Co called Trump a "rapist, pedophile, warmonger" who used the world's resources to pursue war for the benefit of his friends and artificial intelligence industries. She also slammed alleged plans to set up AI data centers into the Philippines.

"We don't want to sell the future of the youth. That's why behind me are the Gen Z of the Philippines, who stand in solidarity with the Gen Z of the world. We fight for our future and Donald Trump is not a part of this picture," Co said in a mix of English and Filipino.

In Ateneo de Manila University, students and university personnel also staged a walkout, according to student publication The GUIDON. Many protesters were seen carrying signs to reject the Pax Silica initiative and to protect the environment.

Students from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) also held a mass walkout. Bayan Muna Partylist shared that their student chapter had joined the national protest action to reject Trump and Pax Silica.

"Mariing tinutulan ng mga kabataan ang Pax Silica na may kaugnayan sa estratehiya ng US sa critical minerals at semiconductor supply chains. Nananawagan ang Iskolar ng Bayan ilantad sa publiko ang buong nilalaman ng kasunduan at tiyaking mapangangalagaan ang pambansang interes," Bayan Muna said in Facebook post.

(The youth strongly reject Pax Silica, which is connected to the US' strategy regarding critical minerals and semiconductor supply chains. The Scholars of the Nation are calling for transparency to the public on the full contents of the agreement and to ensure national interests.)

Several other student groups have announced protest activities later in the day and in the days leading up to the ASEAN Summit.

The Pax Silica initiative, which is set for construction in New Clark City in Tarlac, has been the subject of controversy for several months.

Multi-sectoral groups have raised concerns over its possible impact to the environment due to its high energy and water consumption, and the potential displacement of indigenous people from their ancestral lands.

Earlier this week, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) reiterated that Pax Silica in New Clark City will be governed by Philippine laws. The BCDA also previously clarified that the Pax Silica hub is not envisioned as a cluster of hyperscale data centers, but as an industrial hub that would include the manufacturing of semiconductors and microchips used in computers, laptops, electric vehicles, and other technologies. — VDV, GMA News