5 paralegals arrested, dozens hurt as police disperse anti-Pax Silica protest in BGC

Alfredo Hilario

Five paralegals were arrested while at least 27 sustained injuries after police allegedly pushed, dragged, and struck protesters with riot shields and batons in a demonstration against the United States-backed Pax Silica initiative outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bonifacio Global City on Sept. 10.

The protest coincided with the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) Investors Forum, where business leaders, foreign investors, and government officials gathered to discuss projects involving semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and infrastructure development. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was expected to deliver the keynote address.

Among those allegedly arrested were Kenneth Castor, current chief of staff of the University of the Philippines Office of the Student Regent (UP OSR), along with other paralegals Jona Yang, Mara Peralta, Daya Juliano, and RC Placido, according to rights groups and student organizations.

The UP OSR condemned Castor’s arrest and called on the UP System, student councils, organizations, and students nationwide to demand his immediate release.

“Kaisa ni Castor ang lahat ng mga Iskolar ng Bayan sa pagtutol sa Pax Silica. Mula UP Baguio hanggang UP Mindanao, naninindigan kami na hindi krimen ang ipagtanggol ang ating soberanya,” the OSR said in a statement.

“These arbitrary arrests are a clear violation of the people’s right to peaceful protest, particularly on the urgent and burning issue of the Pax Silica initiative in the…Philippines,” KARAPATAN reiterated in a statement.

Protesters opposed the proposed Pax Silica multinational infrastructure initiatives, warning that the planned AI data centers and semiconductor plants threaten to displace thousands of indigenous peoples and urban poor communities while deepening foreign economic control across roughly 1,620 hectares in New Clark City, Tarlac.

They also argued that the project could open Philippine land, resources, and infrastructure to foreign interests, raising concerns over the increased mineral extraction and the expansion of foreign military presence. 

The groups maintained that national development should be anchored on Philippine sovereignty and called for an independent investigation into the reported use of force and the arrests.