AI data center proponent walks out of Iloilo public consultation

MANILA, Philippines – The proponent of a proposed 50-megawatt (MW) hyperscale artificial intelligence (AI) data center in Oton, Iloilo, walked out of a public consultation on Friday, August 14, after residents expressed opposition to the project.

Daniel Robertsen, a Norwegian data center executive and proponent of the facility, left the consultation at the Barangay Abilay Sur Chapel after several residents voiced their opposition to the project.

According to Renan Herrera, the president of Ugyon Youth Organization who participated in the consultation, lawyer Annie Rose Paro, a member of the Oton Sangguniang Bayan, questioned Robertsen after his presentation about the facility’s water use. She asked about a statement made that the data center would not waste water.

Robertsen explained that the facility would use a specific amount of water, and that the same water would continuously circulate within the system.

Paro pointed out that water could still be lost through evaporation, meaning additional water could eventually be needed to maintain the system.

Robertsen then said that if the community did not want the project, they would not pursue it, emphasizing that they were not forcing anyone to build the data center.

“We just don’t want it,” residents said during the discussion.

Robertsen responded before leaving, “If you don’t want it, let’s stop the discussion now.”

According to a Daily Guardian video, members of the media approached Robertsen for an interview after his walkout. He refused and directed profanity at the journalists.

“If you don’t have brain, just fuck, go away,” Robertsen said.

The proposed data center would occupy a 10-hectare property in Barangay Abilay Sur and have a total load capacity of 50 megawatts. Its proponents have described it as the first hyperscale AI data center campus in Western Visayas. Hyperscale data centers, however, tend to scale power use up to 100 megawatts or even 1 gigawatt.

Robertsen submitted the proposal to the Oton local government in May 2026.

The project’s proposed electricity requirement comes as the Visayas grid continues to face power interruptions.

Data presented during briefings with the Energy Regulatory Commission showed 3,095 reported outages in the Visayas from January to June 2026, the highest among the three major Philippine grids during the period.

The figure refers to reported outages across the Visayas and does not establish a link between those interruptions and the proposed Oton data center.

No approval yet

In a Daily Guardian report on Friday morning, Oton Vice Mayor Jose Neil Olivares said the municipal government has not endorsed or approved the proposed project.

Olivares said the proposal has not reached the approval stage. He added that the Sangguniang Bayan of Oton hasn’t endorsed the Norwegian company yet to build the data center in Abilay Sur. He also said any assertions of endorsement at this point would be false.

In a separate Daily Guardian video, Olivares said he took Robertsen’s departure as a sign that the Norwegian proponent may no longer pursue the proposed data center in Oton.

“Supposedly he should be gentleman enough to answer our questions,” Olivares said, referring to Robertsen’s decision to leave the consultation.

Olivares said he was offended by Robertsen’s conduct during the consultation, adding that the incident would be included in the committee’s report, which is expected to be drafted next week.

The public consultation was held at the Barangay Abilay Sur Chapel to give residents and other stakeholders an opportunity to raise questions and concerns about the proposed facility.

The proposed data center remains subject to the municipality’s consultation and approval processes.

Reacting to the incident, Cabinet Secretary Benhur Abalos said on Friday night: “His behavior is deplorable. Hindi mo dapat murahin o bastusin ang mga Pilipino, lalo na sa sarili naming bansa (You should not insult or be rude to Filipinos, especially in our own country). As a foreigner, he is expected to respect our people and our laws.” – Rappler.com