Manila: Key terms of the proposed Clark Advanced Manufacturing Park remain unsettled as the government continues to screen legal, environmental, and economic issues before entering formal negotiations on the project linked to the Pax Silica initiative, the Board of Investments (BOI) said Friday. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary and BOI Vice Chairperson and Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo told a Senate hearing that the planned AI-native industrial acceleration hub in New Clark City remains a 'work in progress' despite the identification of a roughly 1,600-hectare site. According to Philippines News Agency, Rodolfo made the clarification after Senator Imee Marcos questioned a proposed framework containing provisions she said raised concerns over sovereignty, land ownership, jurisdiction, and compliance with the Constitution. 'It's a discussion paper. It's not even a negotiating document,' Rodolfo said, adding that formal negotiations have yet to begin. 'Wala pa kami authority to negotiate ( We don't have the authority to negotiate yet),' he said. Marcos raised questions over provisions in the document involving a possible 99-year land arrangement, a joint oversight mechanism, and a proposed Pax Silica Court of Commerce in New York, among others. Rodolfo said the government is reviewing the issues even before negotiations so that provisions it cannot accept would no longer have to be discussed with the other party. 'To reassure you, kami mismo hindi kami papayag (we ourselves will not agree),' he said, adding that succeeding agreements would have to conform with Philippine laws. He said the Philippine proposal currently being considered is anchored on the Export Development Act and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) law and has undergone inter-agency review, including scrutiny of legal and constitutional issues. Rodolfo also sought to separate the broader Pax Silica partnership from the Clark project, saying the former is a non-binding declaration of shared principles among 2 4 countries and economies, while the latter is a specific project being developed under the initiative. The Clark Advanced Manufacturing Park, he clarified, is not intended to be a data center but an advanced manufacturing ecosystem that would produce equipment and components used in AI data centers and other AI-enabled electronic products. The government envisions the project as a vehicle for moving the Philippines from predominantly lower-value semiconductor activities toward higher-value segments, such as chip design, wafer production, and fabrication. But Rodolfo said its development would have to satisfy Philippine environmental and infrastructure requirements, with developers expected to build their own roads, bring their own power, and secure and reuse their own water. He also said the master development and individual locators would still be required to obtain environmental compliance certificates. BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Joshua Bingcang said power, water, logistics, and other requ irements are still being studied to ensure that the planned industrial park would not place undue pressure on resources used by surrounding communities. The Senate Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change is examining the environmental and social implications of Pax Silica amid concerns involving water and electricity requirements, indigenous peoples, farmers, and nearby communities. Committee chair Senator Raffy Tulfo said the Senate would keep watch over commitments made by government agencies as the project develops, while Senators Bam Aquino, Francis Pangilinan, Marcos, and Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian raised separate concerns involving transparency, technology transfer, environmental protection, and constitutional safeguards. Gatchalian described the project as a potential opportunity to lift the country into higher-value manufacturing but stressed that compliance with Philippine laws and the Constitution should not be compromised. Rodolfo said with the project's final stru cture still being shaped, inputs from Congress, government agencies, and stakeholders could still influence the terms that the Philippines eventually brings to the negotiating table.