Philippine law — not American — will govern the planned 1,619-hectare artificial intelligence hub in Tarlac, a senior official confirmed Monday, May 18, dismissing a reported US request for diplomatic protections and extraterritorial legal coverage at the site.
Bases Conversion and Development Authority president and chief executive Joshua Bingcang said the Department of Justice had already validated the legal framework that will apply. Two domestic statutes — the Investors’ Lease Act and the BCDA Law — will cover the arrangement, he said, leaving no room for the protections Washington had sought.
“It will be treated as a regular business development contract. No special treatment to be accorded to the US,” Bingcang told reporters.
His remarks addressed a Wall Street Journal report from last month that described the hub operating under US common law with diplomatic immunity extended to American personnel. “That’s their request, but we did not agree to that,” he said.
The clarification came as US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg conducted the first high-level American inspection of the future site since the project was announced in April. Helberg toured the area alongside Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo and representatives from 12 American companies. The group unveiled a marker on a parcel situated between the New Clark City Sports Hub and Clark International Airport.
Bingcang outlined the zone’s development parameters: heavy industry will be barred, and the area is designed to include schools, housing for engineers, and open space. Technical assessments are set to begin in June, with groundbreaking targeted before the end of 2028.
The Tarlac hub is the flagship project under Pax Silica, a US-led coalition of 13 countries established in December 2025 to build resilient supply chains across semiconductors, AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and critical minerals. The Philippines joined the coalition in April.
At the site, Helberg framed the initiative as a direct counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, saying Pax Silica would compete by “building something entirely new” rather than relying on state-built ports and state-run banks. Without naming Beijing, he pointed to production losses American firms are absorbing from customs delays “nobody will explain” and abrupt export restrictions on rare earths, gallium, germanium, and graphite.
“When ninety percent of a critical input comes from one country, you do not have a supply chain,” Helberg said. “You have a hostage chain.”
China announced sweeping export controls on critical minerals and processing technologies in October 2025. It produces more than 90 percent of the world’s processed rare earths and controls global supply of gallium, germanium, and graphite.
The State Department, Helberg said, would treat economic security “as a product to be built, not a policy to be announced.” He added that more than 20 firms — including several billion-dollar US companies he declined to name — have expressed interest in investing in the zone.
Rodolfo confirmed that five additional US firms, three from Israel, and two from Dubai have also signaled interest. The Philippines holds substantial reserves of nickel, copper, chromite, and cobalt — minerals central to chips, magnets, motors, and batteries — positioning it as a strategic partner in the coalition’s supply chain ambitions.
