The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) strongly condemned the court-backed dismantling of the people’s barricade in Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya, describing it as a clear case of state repression serving foreign-led mining interests at the expense of peasants, local communities, and the environment.

The January 6, 2026 resolution of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya, which ordered the removal of barricades along Keon Barangay Road in Barangay Bitnong, once again sided with Woggle Corporation by affirming a writ of preliminary injunction that allows the company to continue its exploration activities. This ruling followed the violent dispersal of the people’s barricade on October 17, 2025, carried out by police and masked individuals, and its partial enforcement by the Philippine National Police (PNP) on January 13, 2026.

“The courts, the police, and local authorities are acting in unison to silence peasants and communities who are only defending their land and livelihoods,” said Danilo Ramos, Chairperson of KMP. “Instead of scrutinizing the questionable exploration permit granted to Woggle Corporation, the state has chosen to criminalize the people and legitimize mining aggression.”

The barricade was established by residents of Dupax del Norte to prevent Woggle Corporation from entering their communities after the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) issued an exploration permit in August 2025 covering approximately 3,100 hectares across the barangays of Bitnong, Inaban, Mungia, Parai, and Oyao. This permit was granted despite the absence of genuine community consent and despite serious environmental and procedural concerns raised by residents, Church groups, and environmental advocates.

Community organizations and alliances have pointed out that the issuance and enforcement of Woggle’s permit exemplify how corruption and bureaucrat capitalism operate in mining-affected areas. While Woggle’s permit is officially limited to exploration, the company’s actions clearly pave the way for full-scale mining, including preparations linked to processing facilities in Runruno that are expected to be operational by 2027. These developments signal an expansion of destructive mining operations in Nueva Vizcaya and neighboring provinces, carried out without regard for the will of affected communities.

KMP also questioned Woggle Corporation’s ownership structure, noting that the company is 40 percent owned by London-based Metals Exploration Plc and 60 percent by FCF Corporation, which is likewise controlled by Metals Exploration. This arrangement effectively circumvents constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership of mining ventures, further underscoring how the country’s natural resources are being opened to foreign plunder through legal and corporate maneuvering.

“The situation in Dupax del Norte shows how foreign mining companies, with the backing of corrupt officials, can override community decisions and environmental safeguards,” Ramos said. “This is land grabbing disguised as development, and peasants are being forced to bear the social and ecological costs.”

The threat posed by Woggle’s activities extends beyond Dupax del Norte. The Sierra Madre mountain range, one of Northern Luzon’s most important watersheds, faces serious risk from mining exploration that could contaminate rivers, destroy forests, and undermine food production in farming communities. Residents and environmental groups have repeatedly warned that mining in this ecologically fragile area could trigger landslides and flooding, recalling the deadly landslide in Runruno in 2020 during Typhoon Ulysses that claimed the lives of nine people and was linked to mining operations.

Despite harassment, intimidation, and the threat of arrest, residents of Dupax del Norte continue to assert their right to defend their land and environment. KMP emphasized that the people’s barricade is a legitimate form of collective action against environmental destruction and rural dispossession, not a criminal act.

“Defending the land is not a crime. What is criminal is allowing foreign mining companies to ravage our lands, forests, and water sources with the full backing of the state,” Ramos said. “KMP stands firmly with the peasants of Dupax del Norte and all communities resisting destructive mining.”

KMP reiterated its call for the immediate revocation of Woggle Corporation’s exploration permit, an end to the harassment and criminalization of land and environmental defenders, and genuine accountability for the corruption that enables foreign mining interests to operate with impunity. ###