Anti-Pax Silica petitions exceed 500K signatures as opposition mounts

MANILA, Philippines — Advocacy groups have pledged to ramp up opposition against the Marcos administration’s controversial US-backed Pax Silica project, noting that online petitions against the initiative have already drawn over 500,000 signatures.

During a press conference, private citizen Tony Oquias, alongside the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) Philippines and Kasama BulSU, announced that their respective online petitions have collectively gathered 523,265 signatures.

“The massive support that our petitions are getting shows how intense the Filipino people’s opposition is to Pax Silica,” said Arnold Padilla, secretary general of ILPS Philippines.

READ: Top biz execs want pro-Filipino Pax Silica hub

“The government could not afford to ignore the issues being raised by the different sectors — from the lack of transparency in the negotiations to the issues of displacement of local communities, the wanton plunder of our land, water, and energy resources, and the blatant violation of our national sovereignty,” he added.

Online petition vs Pax Silica

Kasama BulSU, a student political organization at Bulacan State University that advocates on social issues, said its petition on Change.org has collected 386,712 signatures.

“We are alarmed by how the Marcos government is undermining our future with a mega project that’s being falsely hyped as bringing about economic development and modernization,” said Selwyn Angelone Almeida, Kasama BulSU’s secretary general.

“What kind of future and development can the youth expect if our lands and natural resources are handed over to foreigners?” he said in Filipino.

For its part, ILPS Philippines’ Google Forms petition has received 20,675 signatures.

ILPS also said its statement opposing Pax Silica has been endorsed by 154 organizations from 30 countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States, among others.Meanwhile, freelance photographer and advertising consultant Tony Oquias said his Change.org petition has collected 115,878 signatures.

“I personally initiated the petition because I am deeply concerned about the possible effects of Pax Silica on Filipinos and on the Philippines as a whole,” he said.

The petition organizers said they are discussing ways to coordinate their efforts, including submitting the signatures to Congress, urging lawmakers to investigate the project.

One of the country’s leading business organizations has expressed support for the proposed Philippines-United States Pax Silica hub, describing it as among the country’s most significant economic development opportunities in recent decades.

The Management Association of the Philippines said its support is conditional on the government ensuring that the planned 1,619-hectare project serves the country’s national interests and delivers tangible benefits to Filipinos. /das

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