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Louella Desiderio - The Philippine Star
March 15, 2026 | 12:00am
The Pax Silica Summit is a historic gathering of nations at the forefront of the global AI supply chain.
Businessworld / OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, US DEPT. OF STATE OFFICIAL
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is looking to join a United States-led initiative for artificial intelligence (AI) and supply chain security, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
“The Philippines is very much interested to be part of the Pax Silica initiative of the US,” Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo told reporters on the sidelines of a conference organized by Stratbase Institute and Asia Pacific Foundation Canada.
Launched in December, Pax Silica aims to build a secure and resilient supply chain for AI and semiconductors.
Apart from the US, its other signatories are Australia, Greece, India, Israel, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
“For us, Pax Silica rests on two pillars. One pillar is the critical mineral space and that is to be able to have a secure supply of critical minerals and rare earth elements that are needed for both defense and high technology industries,” Rodolfo said.
He said the second pillar covering AI and digital infrastructure is also important for the Philippines.
“You would need the critical minerals for you to be able to produce all the necessary equipment components for your digital infrastructure,” he said.
As the Philippines looks to join the Pax Silica initiative, it is also interested in forging a critical minerals agreement with Canada.
“We hope that with Canada, we can also have a critical minerals agreement given the prominence that we’re putting on critical minerals,” Rodolfo said.
He said that Canada is open to the agreement, based on discussions during a recent visit to Canada.
Earlier this year, the Philippines was among 10 countries that signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the US on critical minerals.
Through the MOU, the aim is to diversify global critical mineral supply chains and promote investments in the sector.
The Philippines is aiming to have a greater role in the global critical minerals supply chain by moving from supplying raw ores to high-value processing.
