A finalized agreement covering the Pax Silica artificial intelligence hub in Tarlac could carry Washington’s signature within months, with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) pointing to November as the likely moment for a formal deal.
That timeline hinges partly on the diplomatic calendar. BCDA president and CEO Joshua Bingcang tied the announcement to a possible visit by US President Donald Trump for the ASEAN Summit, framing it as a marquee moment in a decades-long alliance. “Should US President Donald Trump come here as part of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit in November, it’s one of the big announcements that they will make as part of the 80th year of the Philippines-US relationship,” he said.
The stakes have not been lost on the agency steering the project. “We are under pressure to make sure that we deliver that,” Bingcang said. He placed completion of the governing framework two to three months out.
At the center of the effort sits a 4,000-acre stretch of New Clark City, which the two governments are building into an AI industrial hub. The initiative, driven by the United States, is aimed at establishing a secure and resilient AI supply chain, with Manila signing on in April. Officials view the site as a potential turning point for the country’s ambitions in emerging technology and its push to generate higher-quality employment.
Private industry is not waiting on official cues to stake out its role. At the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham) general membership meeting, Ayala Corp. chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala described early coordination between business groups to shape how companies plug into both Pax Silica and the Luzon Economic Corridor. “We’ve agreed at least as first steps, that we’ll work between the Makati Business Club and the American Chamber to…rather than wait and give instructions, we move forward and start to map a path that will allow us to harness a rare opportunity where there is US emphasis on the Philippines,” he said.
Zobel de Ayala said companies would pinpoint the specific sectors where collaboration makes sense across the two programs now drawing outside interest to the country. “If we can all build around that, build some momentum around it through our friendships and the relationships we have and the institutions that we’re tied up to, then I think we have a unique opportunity to bring momentum to an important area in the country and I’m excited to participate in that in any way I can,” he said.
That appetite to lead rather than follow was echoed by AmCham executive director Ebb Hinchliffe, who said the groups intend to begin joint work in the weeks ahead. “From the private sector, let’s start focusing on what’s needed, how do we do it, who’s going to do it from the private sector and let the government join us as is possible,” he said.
