The country’s largest network of Catholic schools said public concerns over the proposed Pax Silica Project deserve careful attention, urging government leaders to build trust through transparency, environmental responsibility and meaningful community participation. The association said many Filipinos have seen extractive projects promise prosperity but leave behind environmental degradation, weak regulatory enforcement, limited community benefits and little local industrial development, making public skepticism “both understandable and legitimate.” CEAP also called for stronger transparency, meaningful public participation, independent environmental monitoring, fair benefit-sharing, and “clear commitments to local processing and value-added industries” before the project advances. The proposed Pax Silica Project aims to position the Philippines as a supplier of high-purity silica, a critical mineral used in semiconductor wafers, fiber-optic cables, photovoltaic cells and other technologies supporting artificial intelligence, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing. “The long-term success of high-purity silica development depends less on the resource itself than on the strength of governance, regulatory institutions, environmental stewardship, and industrial policy,” CEAP said.