Seven residents of Dupax del Norte sat in jail for defending their land—a reality that calls into question the very meaning of citizens’ freedom of speech and government authority.
Their arrest followed the enforcement of a court injunction requested by Woggle Corporation, a UK-based mining company that began its two-year exploration to a 3,101-hectare area in the province, after being permitted by the government.
What should alarm the public is not only corporate overreach, but the role of government officials, who approved and enabled the mining operation, and the police enforcement that criminalized residents for defending their land.
The Mining Act of 1995, Section 23 is explicit. It requires mining permit holders to conduct prior consultation with affected parties, with unresolved disputes submitted to a Panel of Arbitrators before resorting to courts. The Local Government Code also reinforces this by mandating consultation with local government units and affected sectors for projects that threaten ecological balance.
Yet Woggle Corporation bypassed these requirements. Barangay chairman Junior Taligan and the Oyao Barangay Council refused to issue a consultation certification, deeming the company’s August 15, 2025 meeting merely informational and insufficient to address community concerns.
No arbitration process was initiated before the company sought court intervention. Still, permits were honored, a temporary restraining order was enforced by RTC Branch 30 in Bambang, and police were deployed—not to protect community rights, but to dismantle a barricade erected by residents in protest.
Six indigenous women and a leader of an environmental group were arrested and detained on Jan. 23, charged with resistance and disobedience, obstruction of justice, and direct assault. They were also dismissed three days after their arrest.
By approving mining without safeguards and enforcing injunctions against communities, it comes to show that in the Philippines, corporate permits can outweigh constitutional rights.
The Weekly Sillimanian demands accountability and strengthened dialogue. Lawmakers must urge a probe into the matter of mining operations in the region, and to push for proper consultation with the locals. While the Dupax del Norte 7 were cleared of charges, the court must recognize that the ongoing anti-democratic police and military operations in the region can be a threat to legal processes.
Development must serve communities first. When ordinary citizens are oppressed for defending their land while authorities are impuned—not a single one has been held accountable—the injustice is unmistakable. Defending land is not a crime, and no state that jails its defenders can call itself just.
