Philippine political, peasant, and solidarity leaders warned that the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative could displace communities, put greater pressure on electricity and water supplies, and expand mineral extraction in the Philippines.
Speaking at a press conference in Toronto ahead of the Kapit Bisig conference and the fifth global assembly of the International Coalition of Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP), the leaders urged Canada to scrutinize its involvement in the emerging artificial intelligence and critical minerals supply chain.
Liza Maza, president of the progressive Philippine political party Makabayan, said communities were already facing displacement linked to projects associated with the AI supply chain.
“Already, displacements are happening. They were given notices to vacate the areas,” Maza said.
She also raised concerns over the possible impact on basic services, saying “the people are really afraid that basic needs like electricity and water will become more expensive when Pax Silica comes, not to mention the environmental impacts.”
Maza said Pax Silica carried implications beyond trade.
“Pax Silica is not just a mere trade agreement, but an agreement that has economic, political, and security implications for the Philippines,” she said.
She linked U.S. interest in rare earth minerals to advanced technology, saying “the United States has made rare earth minerals a national concern because they see the future as a future of microchips to produce high-technology warfare.”
Organizers described Pax Silica as a U.S.-led multilateral critical minerals initiative supporting artificial intelligence development and the Silicon Valley technology supply chain. They said Canada is currently listed as an observer.
Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, chairperson of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, said land should remain with farmers and Indigenous communities rather than be opened to projects under the initiative.
“I’d like the stress the point that from our position in the Philippines, among the indigenous sector, land should be distributed for the tillers and not for Pax Silica,” Ramos said.
He argued that the Philippines should instead pursue agrarian reform and domestic industrial development.
“Foreign direct investment is not the way for our development, only genuine agrarian reform and national industrialization will lead to development,” Ramos said.
The speakers also raised concerns over Canadian mining in the Philippines and growing military and economic ties involving Canada, the United States and the Philippine government.
Organizers linked those concerns to Pax Silica, the Canadian Status of Visiting Forces Agreement and the planned Canada-Philippines Free Trade Agreement. They also raised concerns over what they described as increasing militarization in the Philippine countryside.
The Rev. Patricia Lissen of ICHRP Canada called on Canadian groups to act on concerns raised by their Philippine counterparts.
“We cannot listen, express sympathy, and then leave [our Philippine partners] to carry the burden alone,” Lissen said.
She also called on Canada to reconsider further military cooperation, saying, “Our responsibility in Canada is to listen, and then to act. Canada should pause further military agreements.”
The Sept. 25-26 Kapit Bisig conference in Toronto is expected to bring together churches, unions, lawyers, solidarity groups and activists from the Philippines and other countries.
Organizers said the gathering would discuss political and economic conditions in the Philippines and connect issues facing Filipino communities overseas with human rights campaigns in the country.
