Environmental concerns about Pax Silica are legitimate. We should demand strict environmental standards and make sure that any technology investment benefits Filipinos.
But let’s also look at the bigger picture.
In 2024, the Philippines exported 35.1 billion kilograms of nickel ore and concentrates to China, worth about $808.6 million. That represented roughly 78% of the Philippines’ total nickel-ore export volume that year. In 2023, the dependence was even more striking: about 39.9 billion kilograms, worth $1.06 billion, went to China.
At the same time, the Philippines continues to face serious disputes with China over our maritime territory, fisheries, and natural resources. Filipino vessels have been harassed while conducting activities within areas the Philippines considers part of its jurisdiction, including incidents involving Philippine fisheries vessels.
So if our argument is that we must reject opportunities because extraction or industrial development can harm the environment, then we should apply that principle consistently.
Why should Filipinos reject opportunities to build our own technological and industrial capacity while remaining heavily dependent on foreign markets and supply chains—including China—for the minerals extracted from our own soil?
The answer isn't to choose China over the environment, or the West over the environment.
The answer is to demand both environmental protection and Philippine sovereignty.
We should process more of our own resources, create higher-value industries here, attract competing investments, enforce environmental laws, and make sure Filipino communities receive a fair share of the value generated from Philippine resources.
We shouldn't abandon our own “car” because it produces emissions, only to become dependent on someone else's car—especially when that person is already trying to control where we can drive.
Protect the environment. Protect our resources. Protect our sovereignty. And don't confuse environmental responsibility with strategic dependence.
