ILOILO — A proposed 50-megawatt hyperscale artificial intelligence (AI) data center in Oton, Iloilo has been thrown into uncertainty after its Norwegian proponent walked out of a public consultation on Friday afternoon, August 14, leaving residents’ questions unanswered and prompting the town’s vice mayor to say the action could signal the withdrawal of the proposal.
Daniel Stefan Robertsen, proponent of the planned facility in Barangay Abilay Sur and data center manager of Oslo, Norway-based sustainable AI data center operator Terakraft AS, abruptly left during the probing question-and-answer portion of the consultation at the Barangay Abilay Sur Chapel.
Before leaving the venue, Robertsen said, “If you don’t want it, let’s stop the discussion now.”
A data center is a facility that stores, processes and manages massive amounts of digital information used for internet services, cloud computing, AI and other technologies.
Prior to the consultation, Robertsen’s proposal had already drawn mixed — particularly negative — reactions after the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) of Barangay Abilay Sur announced the schedule of the public consultation on social media.
FIRST AI-READY HYPERSCALE FACILITY
In the earlier part of the consultation, Robertsen presented the project as the proposed first AI-ready hyperscale facility in Western Visayas, envisioned to establish a new benchmark for technology infrastructure in the region.
The facility would initially require 10 megawatts of capacity, with a roadmap to expand to 50 MW in three phases.
Among the potential benefits it identified were more reliable digital services, employment and business opportunities, technological development and innovation, improved digital infrastructure, and the possibility of reducing environmental impact through renewable energy and efficient cooling systems.
But the SK of Barangay Abilay Sur also raised potential drawbacks, including heavy electricity and water consumption, possible carbon emissions depending on the source of electricity, heat and noise, and impacts on land use and local resources.
“Indi kinahanglan nga mangin ‘pro’ ukon ‘anti’ kita. Importante nga mahibaluan naton ang facts, magpamangkot, kag magpabati sang aton concerns agud masiguro nga ang development may benepisyo sa komunidad kag indi makadaot sa aton palibot. Technology should move forward —but it should move forward responsibly,” the SK said.
NOW IN LIMBO?
Vice Mayor Jose Neil Olivares interpreted the walkout as an indication that the company was abandoning its proposal.
“Kun nag-walk out sia, that means he’s withdrawing his proposal. Ti, daw indi manami. Supposedly he should be gentleman enough to answer all our questions. Kay ti sila ang naga-propose,” Olivares told reporters after the consultation.
Olivares lamented that residents who attended the consultation were left without answers to questions they had prepared about the project.
“Daw nabitin ang mga pumoluyo (because the proponent) nag-walk out,” he said.
The Sangguniang Bayan’s (SB) Committee on Zoning, Buildings, Infrastructure and Urbanization is expected to meet next week, discuss and prepare a committee report following the development.
Olivares stressed that the municipal council would ultimately side with whatever would best serve Oton residents.
CALL TO BAN AI DATA CENTERS
Discussions over the proposed Oton facility began after a company representative met with Olivares and members of the municipal council on May 2, 2026.
Former Kabataan party-list representative Raoul Manuel later urged local government units in Western Visayas to ban AI data centers, “given that their well-documented harms outweigh any benefit to host communities,” he said.
He also said the public deserved to know which other sites in the province or region were being considered for data center projects.
NO SB ENDORSEMENT YET
Even before Friday’s consultation, Olivares had clarified that the Sangguniang Bayan had not endorsed the Norwegian company’s proposal.
He said the project remained at the consultation stage and that the company’s formal expression of intent had been forwarded to Mayor Sofronio Fusin for further study and comment by the mayor and concerned municipal department heads.
“Palihog indi ninyo anay pag husgaran ang komitiba ukon ang bug-os nga Sanggunian,” Olivares said.
He assured residents that the council would carefully examine the proposal and its implications before making a decision.
“Aton gina pasiguro sa mga natungdan nga pumuluyo nga aton tun-an sing maayo ang tanan nga anggolo kag implikasyon antes kita mag hatag sang desisyon sa sini nga proyekto. Tungod ang kompaniya nag-apply sing pormal, pormal man naton nga ipaagi ini sa husto nga proseso. Kon ano ang mas maayo para sa pumuluyo kag katilingban, dira maga upod ang inyo Sangguniang Bayan,” the vice mayor said./PN
