03/08/2026
WHISPERS FROM THE –LLAW-
Pax Silica and Bentham’s Felicific Calculus
INTRODUCTION -
Supporters try to sell the Pax Silica Project by assuring that it will position the Philippines as a global key player in the semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries.
The arguments they put forward are not new. We have heard these same arguments used by past proponents of harmful projects: The project will attract foreign investment, create thousands of jobs, and strengthen the country's role in emerging technologies.
But wait… since when has economic growth served as the lone measure of the morality of public policy?
Development projects as huge as the Pax Silica often bring consequences that extend far beyond financial indicators. We have to consider their effects on communities, ecosystems, and future generations.
While not ignoring the good that the projected economic returns will bring to the Philippines, questions about environmental sustainability, water security, land use, and the protection of local livelihoods deserve equal attention.
Online sources (inquirer.net) provide that the Pax Silica project will demand an estimated 3 gigawatts of electricity, which could destabilize the Philippine power grid and spike electricity rates.
Water requirement is estimated at 130 million liters daily, raising fears of competition with local agriculture and irrigation systems in Central Luzon. Factor in the many farmers that will be displaced, and you have a bigger issue that cannot be ignored.
Between the glittering financial promises of the Pax Silica project and the profound devastation it will inflict upon our lands, I refuse to look at the gold. I have lived long enough in this country to witness from the front row the elaborate charades where our collective wealth is quietly siphoned into the deep pockets of the powerful.
I am not a supporter of Utilitarianism. But I have to admit that Jeremy Bentham’s Felicific Calculus is helpful in exposing the compelling reasons for exercising extreme caution on the Pax Silica project.
In this post I will also show how contemporary Catholic Social teachings, recent papal documents and the philosophical position of Jacques Maritain also support the same advocacy.
JEREMY BENTHAM'S PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY
Jeremy Bentham’s Principle of Utility provides that law and public policy must be judged according to whether or not it increases happiness and reduces suffering for society as a whole.
In Bentham’s Utilitarian Principle, consequences determine the moral value of any act. A policy is ethical only if it produces more overall pleasure than pain for everyone affected by said policy.
This principle requires government leaders and decision makers to look beyond economic gains or technological advancement. New industries that promise investment and job opportunities must also be evaluated alongside the burdens they impose on individuals, communities, and the environment.
For this reason, the central ethical question surrounding the Pax Silica Project is not simply whether it will stimulate economic growth. Rather, it is whether the project genuinely improves the well-being of present and future Filipinos.
BENTHAM'S FELICIFIC CALCULUS
Bentham developed the felicific calculus with seven dimensions of pleasure and pain as a practical method for evaluating the moral consequences of an action.
By these seven dimensions, decision-makers can calculate whether a policy ultimately promotes the greatest happiness of the greatest number of Filipinos.
Here are the seven elements of the felicific calculus. For easy recall I have coined the acronym “EPIC F PD”. (If it sounds to you like “Epic if paid”, you have definitely memorized it!).
EXTENT – How many persons are affected by the pleasure?
The potential benefits of the Pax Silica Project could reach thousands of workers, investors, and businesses throughout the country.Yet the effects of environmental degradation extend beyond those who directly participate or benefit in the project. Biodiversity, agricultural communities, public health, and future generations should become part of the moral equation. Bentham insists that every person affected by a policy must be considered, including those who have no direct voice in present-day decision-making.
PROPINQUITY (Nearness) – How far off in the future is the pleasure or pain? Many of the project's anticipated economic benefits may take years to materialize as infrastructure is developed and industries become fully operational.The burdens, however, are likely to be felt much sooner. Construction activities, land conversion, relocation, and disruptions to local livelihoods begin almost immediately once development starts. Bentham's calculus recognizes that immediate consequences carry considerable ethical significance because they affect people in the present, not merely in some distant future.
INTENSITY- How strong is the pleasure or pain? Supporters of the Pax Silica Project point to the possibility of increased employment, higher incomes, technological innovation, and stronger economic competitiveness. These outcomes could certainly improve the lives of many Filipinos.But communities directly affected by industrial expansion may experience equally significant forms of suffering. The project involves 1,600 hectares of land in New Clark City, Tarlac. Environmental degradation, increased pressure on water resources, displacement of residents, and the loss of agricultural or ancestral lands can profoundly affect people's quality of life. Even government officials have acknowledged that these risks require careful management, demonstrating that they are neither hypothetical nor insignificant.
CERTAINTY – What is the probability that the pleasure of pain will occur? Projected investments and employment figures remain forecasts rather than guarantees. They depend on investor confidence, international demand, and long-term economic stability.By contrast, the environmental pressures associated with large-scale industrial development are well documented. Increased energy consumption, waste generation, and resource extraction are predictable consequences unless effective safeguards are consistently enforced. Because Bentham places greater weight on more certain outcomes, these foreseeable harms deserve serious attention.
FECUNDITY- What is the possibility that the pleasure will lead to other pleasures? Positive outcomes can generate additional benefits. New industries may encourage technological innovation, stimulate supporting businesses, and expand employment opportunities.However, negative consequences can also multiply. Industrial growth may lead to greater demand for natural resources, increased environmental degradation, and more frequent conflicts over land and water. If one harmful consequence gives rise to several others, the overall balance of happiness is further reduced.
PURITY – What is the probability that the pain will lead to other pains, or what is the assurance that the pleasure will not lead to pain? Bentham also asks whether a pleasure is likely to remain free from accompanying pain.Economic prosperity loses much of its moral value if it is inseparable from pollution, ecological destruction, social displacement, or declining public health. Benefits that carry significant and lasting costs cannot be regarded as pure sources of happiness.
DURATION – How long does the pleasure or pain last? Economic gains, while potentially substantial, are often influenced by global market conditions, political shifts, and changing investment priorities. Their longevity cannot be guaranteed.
Environmental damage tells a different story. Once forests are cleared, ecosystems disrupted, or water resources depleted, the effects may persist for decades.
Future generations may inherit ecological problems created by decisions made today. From Bentham's perspective, consequences that endure over a longer period deserve greater moral consideration than temporary economic advantages.
Thus far are the seven elements in Bentham’s Felicific Calculus arranged to form the acronym EPIC F PD. It is also popularly called Hedonistic Calculus.
A UTILITARIAN ASSESSMENT -
Taken together, the seven elements of Bentham's calculus raise serious ethical concerns about proceeding with the Pax Silica Project.
The promised economic benefits are significant, but they remain largely dependent on future conditions that cannot be fully guaranteed.
By contrast, many of the environmental and social risks are immediate, foreseeable, and potentially irreversible. If these harms ultimately affect more people, last longer, or prove more certain than the anticipated benefits, then the project fails Bentham's standard of maximizing overall happiness.
From a utilitarian standpoint, public officials carry the responsibility of demonstrating, not merely assuming, that the project will produce greater overall well-being than suffering.
Until that burden of proof is met, our government officials are morally required to exercise extreme caution.
CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHINGS -
Bentham's analysis is reinforced by the moral vision of at least two popes of the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis and Laudato Si'
In Laudato Si' (2015), Pope Francis writes that genuine progress cannot be measured solely by economic growth or technological achievement.
Human development must also respect creation, protect vulnerable communities, and preserve the environment for future generations.He says, "the environment is one of those goods that cannot be adequately safeguarded or promoted by market forces."
This is a direct challenge to any model of development that places financial gain above ecological integrity or social justice.
encyclical calls for an "integral ecology," recognizing that environmental, social, economic, and cultural concerns are deeply interconnected. Decisions affecting the natural world ultimately affect human dignity.
Pope Leo XIV and his Encyclical “Dilexit Nos”
Pope Leo XIV emphasizes that technological and economic progress should always remain at the service of the human person and the common good.
Innovation is valuable only when it contributes to authentic human flourishing and never when it treats communities or the environment as expendable.
Applied to the Pax Silica Project, this encyclical encourages policymakers to ask not only what the project can produce, but also to clarify who it ultimately serves and what costs it demands from society.
JACQUES MARITAIN AND THE COMMON GOOD -
The philosophy of Jacques Maritain further strengthens this position against the Pax Silica Project.
Maritain maintained that the purpose of political and economic life is the pursuit of the common good. Maritain’s idea of common good is not merely collective prosperity but the flourishing of every human person.
Economic development cannot be considered successful if it sacrifices vulnerable communities, weakens social solidarity, or damages the natural foundations upon which future generations depend.
From Maritain's perspective, technological advancement is meaningful only when it remains subordinate to human dignity and the moral responsibilities that bind society together.
CONCLUSION -
The Pax Silica Project promises economic opportunity, technological innovation, and a stronger position for the Philippines within the global economy.
Definitely, these promises cannot be ignored. But Bentham's utilitarian philosophy reminds us that public policy cannot be judged by its promises alone.
Its true moral value depends on the balance of happiness and suffering it creates for everyone Filipino affected, both already born and yet to be born.
When Bentham's felicific calculus is applied, the project raises significant ethical concerns. The projected economic gains remain uncertain and contingent, while many of the environmental and social risks are immediate, foreseeable, and potentially irreversible.
Unless government leaders can assure the Filipino people that safety nets can be installed to prevent those harms, the project falls short of the utilitarian standard of promoting the greatest happiness for the greatest number.
Catholic social teaching reaches the same conclusion, albeit from a different moral tradition. Through Laudato Si', Dilexit Nos, and Jacques Maritain's philosophy of the common good, the Church reminds us that authentic progress must respect both human dignity and the integrity of creation.
Development is truly meaningful only when it serves people without compromising the environment they depend upon or the future they will leave to generations yet to come.
For these reasons, the PAX SILICA project must be rejected, UNLESS it can clearly be demonstrated that it advances the common good while protecting both people and the natural world both now and in the future.
