Dupax del Norte anti-mining barricade continues despite dispersal, arrests

The six indigenous women and a leader of an environmental group detained in Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya, are now free. They were among the people who put up the human barricade in protest of Woggle Corporation’s mining exploration in Dupax del Norte.

On January 23, the police arrested them.

There was a long fight between the police and community members that day, said Joyce Laray, research and advocacy officer from Center for Environment Concerns, who was there for days before the dispersal.

“Nabigo na sila kaya ang kanilang tanging laban ay ang magtayo ng barikada,” Laray told Rappler. (They were let down and the only option left for them was to set up a barricade.)

The detained were charged with resistance and disobedience, obstruction of justice, and direct assault. These were dismissed Monday, or three days after their arrest.

Since September 2025 residents in Dupax del Norte have resorted to barricades. There were initially five barricades, said Laray. But only one remained in the village of Bitnong, the barricade that the police recently dismantled.

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What are they protesting?

In August, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the environment department issued a permit to Woggle Corporation allowing them to explore the province for gold and copper deposits. The project area covers 3,100 hectares.

An exploration permit is valid for two years. The government does not yet require an environmental clearance certificate at the exploration stage. If the area is determined to be commercially viable, the company can apply for a mineral production sharing agreement with the government, allowing them to extract minerals.

The following month, residents who were opposed to mining put up barricades.

“‘Yung barikada ay simbolo po ng tunay na pagmamahal at pagmamalasakit sa mga anak natin at sa mga susunod na henerasyon,” Florentino Daynos II, 49, told Rappler. Daynos, the leader of environmental defenders in the town, was one of those arrested last Friday.

(Our barricade is a symbol of our genuine love and compassion for our children and the next generation.)

At the Batasan, Makabayan bloc lawmakers filed a resolution last October urging a probe into the matter and the suspension of all mining activities “and related anti-democratic police and military operations in the region.”

“The people of Dupax Del Norte are not criminals – they are defenders of land and future generations,” Kabataan Representative Renee Co said in a statement on January 23.

Locals have tried legal processes to stop mining exploration. They filed an injunction suit against exploration and drilling. They also filed a petition to cancel Woggle Corporation’s exploration permit before the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.

The bureau has taken no actions yet, according to Ellice Balgos, legal counsel of the group Dupax del Norte environmental defenders. Balgos said they are preparing as well to elevate the injunction suit to the Court of Appeals.

Abundance of Nueva Vizcaya

Dupax del Norte is a town in Nueva Vizcaya, a province nestled between great mountain ranges in Luzon.

Ten protected areas cover portions in Nueva Vizcaya towns, such as Salinas Natural Monument, Bangan Hill National Park, Casecnan Protected Landscape, Dupax Watershed Forest Reserve, and Mount Pulag National Park.

Nueva Vizcaya is rich with minerals. In the province are Oceanagold’s Didipio Mine and FCF Minerals Corporation’s Runruno Gold Project – two large-scale mining operations. Woggle Corporation is a subsidiary of FCF Minerals Corporation, wholly owned by London-based Metals Exploration Plc..

The Didipio mine set a precedent for mining opposition in Nueva Vizcaya. It took almost two decades for Oceanagold’s Didipio mine to declare commercial production since it was granted a financial or technical assistance agreement. Currently, the mine operates within 334 hectares.

The people in the province are diverse. Among them are the Gaddang, Ayangan, Isinai, Bugkalots. The name “Dupax” was said to have come from ithe Isinai word “dopaj” which means “to lie down in complete relaxation,” the kind of rest that comes after a long day of good and honest work.

A mounting support

The long-running barricade has fomented support from many groups.

Religious leaders across the Philippines were “morally outraged” of what they called a “violent dispersal and ongoing harassment” of communities.

“This incident reflects a broader national pattern of environmental destruction, human rights abuses, and corporate exploitation affecting peasants and Indigenous Peoples,” read part of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines’ statement on January 26.

Its council of bishops called it a moral and spiritual issue, and said the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 should be repealed.

“We uphold indigenous people’s rights to their ancestral lands and to genuine free, prior, and informed consent,” they added.

Agham, a group of science advocates, warned that mining activities in the town may affect nearby protected areas such as the Casecnan Protected Landscape and Dupax Watershed Forest Reserve.

So what happens now? On Tuesday, a day after the seven detained were cleared of charges, Daynos said the barricade was set up again. There were many people, including religious leaders and people from the human rights community, he said.

“Tuloy po,” Daynos said. “Tuloy ang barikada ngayon (It continues. The barricade continues).” – Rappler.com