Philippines rejects US request for diplomatic immunity at planned AI hub

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines rejected a request from the United States to place a planned 1,619-hectare artificial intelligence hub under American law and grant diplomatic immunity to US personnel at the site, an official confirmed Monday, May 18.

The confirmation came from the president of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and came as Jacob Helberg, US undersecretary of state for economic affairs, toured the future site of the AI hub in Tarlac.

That was the first high-level inspection of the planned project site by an American official since it was announced in April.

"That's their request, but we did not agree to that," Joshua Bingcang, president and chief executive of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, told reporters on Monday. He was asked about a Wall Street Journal report last month that said the hub would operate under US common law and carry diplomatic protections for American staff.

The arrangement instead will be regulated by existing Philippine laws covering investor leases and the BCDA's own enabling act, Bingcang said.

Specifically, Bingcang was pointing to Republic Act 7652, or the Investors' Lease Act — recently amended by RA 12252 to allow foreign investors to lease private land for up to 99 years — and Republic Act 7227, the 1992 Bases Conversion and Development Act, which created the BCDA itself and gave it authority over former US military bases such as Clark.

"It will be treated as a regular business development contract. No special treatment to be accorded to the US," Bingcang said.

Helberg toured the site with Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo and 12 American companies on Monday. They unveiled a marker on a parcel between the New Clark City Sports Hub and Clark International Airport.  

The 1,619-hectare zone will anchor what the State Department calls a "Golden Node", an AI-native industrial hub built around a main tenant, with smaller firms clustered around it. 

Heavy industry will not be allowed, Bingcang said, and the area will also house schools, residences for engineers and open space.

Technical assessments begin in June. Groundbreaking is targeted before the end of 2028.

The hub is the flagship project of Pax Silica, a US-led coalition of 13 countries launched in December 2025 to secure supply chains for semiconductors, AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing and critical minerals. The Philippines joined in April.

In a veiled swipe at China, Helberg on Monday said American firms are losing weeks of production to customs delays "nobody will explain" and abrupt export curbs on rare earths, gallium, germanium and graphite. 

"When ninety percent of a critical input comes from one country, you do not have a supply chain," he said. "You have a hostage chain."

Beijing announced in October 2025 sweeping new export controls on critical minerals and processing technologies. China produces more than 90% of the world's processed rare earths and dominates supply of gallium, germanium and graphite.

In his remarks at the site, Helberg also pitched the zone as the American answer to China's Belt and Road Initiative. 

Pax Silica, Helberg said, would compete with the Chinese initiative by "building something entirely new" instead of state-built ports and state-run banks.

The State Department, he said, would treat economic security "as a product to be built, not a policy to be announced."

The Philippines holds significant reserves of nickel, copper, chromite and cobalt, minerals used in chips, magnets, motors and batteries. 

Helberg, in a separate interview at the site, said more than 20 firms have expressed interest in investing, including several billion-dollar US companies he did not name.

Meanwhile, Rodolfo confirmed there's been interest from five more US firms, three firms from Israel, and two from Dubai.