President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the rollout of an investment package designed to transform the Philippines into a premier semiconductor and artificial intelligence hub in Asia. This directive was delivered by Executive Secretary Ralph Recto during a visit to the Texas Instruments facility in Clark, Pampanga, emphasizing that the government will prioritize incentives to attract big-ticket investments in these booming high-value tech industries.
The latter further explained that the administration wants to leverage the country’s existing assets to push domestic innovation and build a robust local pipeline for Filipino engineers and researchers. The policy is expected to generate high-quality jobs and drive overall economic growth, pointing to Texas Instruments’ four decades of successful operations in the country as a testament to the capabilities of the local tech workforce.
As part of this strategy, Recto also inspected the Pax Silica site at New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac. Envisioned as the country’s first AI-native industrial acceleration hub, the massive development launched in April 2026 is designed to host chip fabrication facilities, critical minerals processing plants, hyperscale data centers, and advanced research labs. More than 50 companies, including several global technology giants, have already expressed interest in setting up operations there.
“Pax Silica presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the Philippines to host industries that will shape the future of the global economy,” Recto said.
To funnel these investments in a systematic manner, the government is utilizing the Luzon Economic Corridor – a collaborative infrastructure initiative with the United States and Japan aimed at improving trade connectivity across Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas. Backed by these regional networks, the local electronics sector is targeting $110 billion in exports by 2030 by moving away from basic low-cost assembly and shifting directly into higher-value segments like integrated circuit design and wafer manufacturing.
Is this where the PH is headed?
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