Last updated April 17, 2026, 12:07 PM
The Philippines has joined a United States-led supply chain alliance and is planning to develop a 4,000-acre industrial hub in Luzon to support allied manufacturing and strengthen economic security.
In a media note released Thursday (Friday Philippine time), the US State Department said the proposed hub will serve as a staging area for allied manufacturing and a platform for investments aligned with market needs under the Pax Silica network.- Advertisement -
Launched in December 2025, Pax Silica is a US-led initiative aimed at building a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain, covering critical minerals, energy inputs, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and logistics.
The Philippines is the 13th signatory to the initiative, joining Australia, Finland, India, Israel, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
“The site is located in the Luzon Economic Corridor of the Philippines. The site—the first of its kind—is being designated by the Philippines as an Economic Security Zone, a new model for AI-native investment acceleration hubs being developed under the Pax Silica Initiative,” the State Department said in a fact sheet.
This interconnection can transform Pax Silica industrial policy “from a collection of bilateral projects into a genuine system capable of competing with—and ultimately displacing—the concentrated supply chains on which the world currently depends,” it added.
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said the initiative is expected to attract significant American investments.
“This will definitely bring in major US investments into the Philippines… unprecedented and ambitious project,” Romualdez said in a text message.
“(Finance) Secretary Frederick Go and I witnessed the signing this morning at the US State Department,” he added.
Department of Trade and Industry Undersecretary and Board of Investments Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo signed the declaration of the Philippines’ accession to Pax Silica on behalf of the country.
Both countries highlighted the Philippines’ reserves of nickel, copper, chromite, and cobalt, and committed to strengthening supply chains in critical minerals, semiconductors, electronics, and other sectors, while attracting high-quality private investments.
“The Philippines, a close US treaty ally, brings to Pax Silica key capabilities and human talent in technology manufacturing, including semiconductors and electronics,” the State Department said.
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