Educators, students forge unity statement vs Pax Silica, Trump

MANILA, Philippines — Students, faculty and staff expressed opposition to the US-led Pax Silica initiative in a signature campaign in Quezon City on Thursday.The event at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani was the signing of the Schools and Colleges Resist the Aggression and Plunder of Pax Silica (SCRAP Pax Silica) which Michael Pante, lead initiator, said was a unity statement forged by more than 500 college deans, faculty regents, and union presidents “to demonstrate our strong objection to Pax Silica.”Notable signatories include 11 deans and directors from different institutes and colleges of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman as well as UP faculty and students, Ateneo de Manila University, and Philippine Normal University.Pante said teachers’ groups such as the Alliance of Concerned Teachers and Manila Public School Teachers’ Association were also signatories.Dr. Ramon Guillermo, one of SCRAP Pax Silica lead initiators, cited the need for genuine nation development, independent from the US."The Philippines will just be a pawn of the US' technological war with China. Our resources will be syphoned off to create technologies that Filipinos will not directly benefit from,” Guillermo said.“National industrialization is the only way for the Philippines to escape poverty and its dependence on the US," he pointed out.Ruby Bernardo, ACT head, emphasized the need for teachers and educators to oppose Pax Silica.Teachers and educators must help amplify the call for justice and accountability for the Aetas and farmers being dispossessed because of Pax Silica, Bernardo said.“If Pax Silica is truly for the benefit of the Philippines, why must people suffer first? ACT demands that the Aetas and farmers be protected from this unjust landgrab," Bernardo said.SCRAP Pax Silica announced that the alliance would join the protests against US President Donald Trump’s visit in connection with the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit on Nov. 16–18, 2026.The groups likewise condemned the displacement of the Aeta Hanguey from their ancestral domain in Capas, Tarlac. Their land will be part of the 1,620-hectare tech hub penciled for Pax Silica development.Last July 2026, they said the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) already told the affected community to leave their ancestral lands by December 2026.SCRAP Pax Silica also questioned the lack of transparency from both the Philippine and US government sabout the details of the Pax Silica agreement.“Up to now, no draft resolution or plan has been released by all parties,” they said.The announcement of the Department of Trade and Industry that no Pax Silica agreement signing will be held during the 49th ASEAN Summit belies the continued opaqueness of the agreement, they added.

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