‘NOT OVER YET’: Oton vice mayor seeks clarity on AI data center walkout

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

ILOILO CITY — Oton, Iloilo Vice Mayor Jose Neil Olivares said on Saturday, Aug. 15, that the municipal government has yet to confirm whether the proposal for a hyperscale artificial intelligence (AI) data campus in the town will be withdrawn, despite the walkout of its proponent that drew national attention.

Daniel Stefan Robertsen, who presented himself as managing director of Norway Green Energy, walked out of the public consultation on the project on Friday, Aug. 14.

The proposal covers a 50-megawatt hyperscale AI data center campus on a 10-hectare property in Barangay Abilay Sur, which Robertsen has described as the first of its kind in Western Visayas.

The consultation was organized by the barangay council of Abilay Sur and Oton’s Sangguniang Bayan, led by Olivares.

Olivares told Daily Guardian after the consultation that Robertsen’s walkout could be taken as a sign that he intended to withdraw the project.

“If he walks out, that means he is withdrawing his proposal. We see it in bad taste. Supposedly he should be gentleman enough to answer questions because he is the one proposing. He should present,” Olivares said on Friday.

But he told Bombo Radyo on Saturday that the council would still seek clarification from Robertsen and his team on whether they were indeed withdrawing the proposal.

“I will instruct my staff who received their letter to inform them to confirm if [Robertsen’s] walkout is indeed a sign of withdrawal of their proposal, and by Monday, I would also talk to Mayor [Sofronio Fusin, Jr.] to put closure on this issue,” the vice mayor said.

The project, which Olivares said was still “between 10 to 20 percent” at the time of the consultation, would still have to meet several other requirements.

These include resolutions from the barangay councils of Abilay Sur and Lambuyao — the areas that would be most affected by the intended development — interposing no objection to the project.

Also required are an Environmental Compliance Certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and a certification from Metro Pacific Iloilo Water, among others.

Olivares also expressed surprise that Robertsen appeared at the consultation alone or with a smaller delegation, saying that more people had accompanied him during the committee hearings, including consolidators and staff.

Before the public consultation, the town council’s zoning committee, which Olivares chairs, had conducted two hearings in May and July.

Olivares said the Norwegian national had been “straightforward” in answering questions from town officials during those earlier hearings.

He said he expects the Abilay Sur council’s resolution and the town council’s minutes to reflect Robertsen’s walkout, and that these would ultimately form part of the records on the issue.

“Social acceptability is one of the requirements [to approve the project]. We respect the barangay, and that is why they held the public hearing, and we are just waiting for the Sangguniang Barangay’s resolution,” he said.

The vice mayor reiterated that the consultation was meant only to gauge public sentiment on the proposal, and that the council did not outright support its development in the area.

“We are just collating public sentiment, all of the findings and recommendations by relevant sectors [and] government agencies, because that would be part of our committee report, [and] of the plenary session discussions,” he said.

“For us in the [Sangguniang Bayan], we don’t have a stand because as far as possible, we will gather all data [and] sentiments from the public and all who are involved,” he added.

Robertsen left Friday’s consultation after a resident spoke against the project, and afterward directed insults and threats of legal action at journalists covering the event.

Daily Guardian earlier reported that searches for Robertsen’s stated company, Norway Green Energy, yielded no relevant details online, and that a check of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Check With SEC portal returned no results.

Robertsen’s presentation listed a physical office at a condominium in Mandurriao, Iloilo City, and he said he has lived in the city since September 2024.

On calls to declare Robertsen persona non grata, or an unwelcome person, in the municipality, Olivares said the matter remained to be seen, citing consultations with town council members this week.