Elijah Canlas hits Pax Silica over environmental, community toll

“It’s bad. I feel like they should not legislate it. Nobody should support it,” Canlas said in an interview following the press conference of his new film “Edjop.”

Led by the United States, the Pax Silica initiative, which aims to “secure global supply chains for artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and critical minerals” will be a 4,000-acre high-tech industrial and innovation hub that has been proposed for New Clark City in Tarlac.

“Ang daming maaabusong environmental resources, ang daming maaabusong mga komunidad. Talo talaga tayong taumbayan.”

While the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), alongside implementers in the Philippine government tout that the massive zone could generate over 130,000 jobs and pull billions in investments, artificial intelligence and manufacturing advancements, Canlas called out the repetitive nature of these promises.

He dismissed the long-touted benefits of similar past initiatives as “mga hoax lang for the past few decades.”

“So I think it’s very clear. For me, it’s weird that people support it, for me,” he remarked.

Canlas did acknowledge the perspective of those pushing for modernization, but he remained resolute that the heavy trade-offs are completely unjustified. “Pero there are so many other factors… marami kang masa-sacrifice. Parang hindi worth it, ‘di ba?”

In earlier news, scientist coalition AGHAM-Advocates of Science and Technology for the People has debunked the claims of the BCDA on the alleged national technological development benefits the Pax Silica initiative “will bring.”

“Walang nakasulat dito na technology transfer. Walang nakasulat dito na magiging sa atin ‘yong mga technologies na nandiyan. Tayo ay magpaparenta lang ng lupa, tayo ay pupuntahan nila para i-process dito ‘yong mga minerals dito pero iiwan din sa atin ang mga waste,” AGHAM spox Giovanni Tapang said to media.

A proud Artista ng Bayan who studied in the Philippine High School for the Arts and University of the Philippines Manila, Canlas is Edgar Jopson in the upcoming biopic “Edjop,” alongside Jodi Sta. Maria, Kakie Pangilinan, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Nour Hooshmand, Cedrick Juan, Issa Litton, and Teroy Guzman, directed by Katski Flores.

Drawing from accounts, recordings, and interviews with the Jopson family, “Edjop” follows the fragmented memories of his daughter Joyette in recounting the life of the Ateneo student activist-turned-Red fighter who was instrumental in sparking the First Quarter Storm, a series of protests in the 1970s that led to the downfall of the Marcos Sr. regime. The film is set to open in cinemas nationwide on September 16.

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