Iloilo keeps door open to tech investors after Oton exit

By Mariela Angella Oladive

ILOILO CITY – The Iloilo provincial government remains open to major technology investments, including artificial intelligence, drone technology, and 3D printing, despite the withdrawal of a proposed AI data center project in Oton after a contentious public consultation on Aug. 14.

In an Aug. 18 interview, Vice Gov. Nathalie Ann Debuque said local government units are empowered to receive and evaluate investment proposals.

She stressed that technological advancement must be accompanied by responsible governance.

Debuque said the province should not close its doors to technological investments because of the recent controversy over the proposed data center.

“We had a bad experience recently, but let us not close our doors. Why? Because we have a process. So if we receive similar investment, we will evaluate,” she said.

She said each proposal would be assessed on its specific details, merits, and potential impact before advancing through government processes.

“We have to see the specifics of their offer. We’ve seen in Oton that we have strong institutions here, so we don’t have to worry,” she said.

She added that public participation would remain an important part of evaluating major investments.

The proposed 50-megawatt hyperscale AI data center in Oton was withdrawn following the Aug. 14 public consultation.

Norwegian proponent Daniel Stefan Robertsen, who presented the project under Norway Green Energy, walked out during the question-and-answer portion of the hearing after being asked about the facility’s water requirements.

The proposed project involved a 10-hectare campus in and around Barangay Abilay Sur, with an initial 10-megawatt power requirement and a planned expansion to 50 megawatts.

Residents and local officials raised questions about the project’s projected water and electricity consumption, environmental impact, heat, and noise, among other concerns.

Hyperscale facilities of that class draw continuous, industrial-scale electricity and, depending on the cooling system chosen, substantial volumes of water, which is why both questions dominated the Oton hearing.

Separately, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. earlier expressed support for the Philippines-U.S. Pax Silica technological partnership, saying the province could develop a smaller version of the initiative through programs such as the MoRProGRes Techno Hub.

The push for technology investments has drawn mixed reactions, with supporters seeing opportunities for technology-related industries and local jobs, while others have raised concerns about the potential environmental, infrastructure, and resource demands of such projects.

The provincial government broke ground on the first school-based Techno Hub at Cabatuan National Comprehensive High School on Aug. 11.