Vice President Sara Duterte pushed back at the online mockery aimed at her after she declined to weigh in on the Pax Silica project, telling a supporter behind the viral clip not to lose sleep over the backlash.
Speaking to a group of Filipinos in The Hague, Netherlands, the Vice President addressed content creator Alvin Sarzate, whose uploaded footage of the earlier exchange had spread rapidly across social media. “Alvin na nawalan ng tulog dahil sa ‘Fox Silica…’ If they cannot respect a no comment, you should not lose sleep over it. That is their problem. That is not your problem,” she said. She added, “Dapat sila ang ma-stress sayo, bakit ikaw ang naiistress sa kanila?”
Her remarks followed a widely circulated video, filmed during her July 28, 2026 appearance in the Netherlands, in which she appeared unable to place the Pax Silica project when a woman asked for her thoughts on the planned development in Tarlac. Duterte fumbled over the name — repeating it as “Fox Silic?” — before Sarzate clarified the subject. Her reply, “Wala ako–I cannot comment on that,” became the focus of the clip.
The timing sharpened the reaction. Just a day earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had spotlighted the initiative in his State of the Nation Address, framing it as a driver of employment and industrial growth. Duterte skipped that address, dismissing it as a “waste of time.”
Pax Silica is a United States-led coalition launched in Washington in December 2025, built to secure supply chains for semiconductors, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence technologies while reducing dependence on China. The Philippines signed on in April 2026. Its flagship contribution is an AI-focused industrial hub planned for roughly 1,600 hectares in New Clark City, Tarlac, intended to process critical minerals and manufacture high-tech components.
Critics questioned whether someone eyeing the presidency in 2028 should be unfamiliar with a project that has stirred national debate for months. As Rappler reported, some Filipinos online mocked her apparent detachment, with one commenter suggesting she stick to travel vlogging. Political commentator Jesus Falcis wrote, “HAHAHA FOX SILICA, ‘yan ba ang tatakbong Pangulo sa 2028?”
The project itself has drawn scrutiny beyond the Duterte episode. Energy Secretary Sharon Garin told Rappler in an interview that the hub cannot draw its full power demand from the Luzon grid without putting households and businesses at serious risk. Advocacy groups, meanwhile, have flagged concerns ranging from heavy water consumption for cooling systems to the potential displacement of indigenous communities near the site.
