5 paralegals arrested, 27 hurt in protest vs Pax Silica at investment forum

MANILA, Philippines – Authorities arrested five paralegals after an anti-Pax Silica protest was held outside an event where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was meeting investors for the Luzon development project on Thursday, September 10. Over two dozen people were hurt, according to a human rights watchdog. “They should be immediately released without charges as they were undertaking their work as human rights defenders,” human rights group Karapatan said in a statement. Protesters clashed with police officers, armed with riot shields, as they tried to enter the lobby of a hotel in Taguig City to get close to the investment forum of the Luzon Economic Corridor. Karapatan said at least 27 people were injured. “They singled out three paralegals who were telling the police not to manhandle or arrest protesters. They also arbitrarily held and arrested two other paralegals who voluntarily went to the police station to assist those who had been arrested,” the group claimed. In a Facebook post, Karapatan said those arrested were Jona Yang, Kenneth Castro, Mara Peralta, Daya Juliano, and RC Placido. Marcos led the Luzon Economic Corridor Investment Forum on Thursday, which convened 600 investors, industry leaders, and senior government officials. The forum, which was co-hosted by the governments of the Philippines, the United States and Japan, was meant to “explore investment opportunities and advance infrastructure projects that enhance connectivity, strengthen global supply chains and drive long-term economic growth in the Philippines,” according to Malacañang. If plans don’t miscarry, the hub of Pax Silica, a US-led initiative to secure AI and semiconductor supply chains, would be built at New Clark City in Tarlac. It will be within the Luzon Economic Corridor, which links Subic Bay, Clark, Manila and Batangas. Must Read NGO sounds alarm on PH joining Pax Silica: Whose interest does it serve? Karapatan said the protest, which was led by the progressive alliance Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), was “legitimate and just” as it described the forum as a “US-backed open house for the plunder of Philippine resources.” “The protesters’ call to junk the Pax Silica initiative in the Philippines is more than justified, given its impacts on the lives, livelihoods, environment, and rights of the Filipino people,” Karapatan said. “Filipinos have every right to demand the scrapping of a project that serves US interests and merely turns the Philippines into a gateway for US economic and militarist power in the region,” it added. Bayan said the Pax Silica initiative would displace indigenous and farming communities. It added that the Luzon Economic Corridor is “designed to also support American military presence and projection,” which will “further expose the Filipino people to US wars and conflicts.” – Rappler.com