Nueva Vizcaya court orders arrest of protesters blocking mining road

A Regional Trial Court in Nueva Vizcaya has ordered the arrest of protesters who blocked a road used by mining firm Woogle Corp., after activists formed a human barricade to prevent the company from reaching its exploration site.

In an order dated 19 January, Paul Attolba Jr., presiding judge of Nueva Vizcaya Regional Trial Court Branch 30, directed court sheriffs and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to enforce a writ of arrest against any person obstructing the Keon Barangay Road in Dupax del Norte.

The court ordered the sheriffs and the PNP “to enforce the writ arrest, without need of further order from the court, any person who would refuse, resist, obstruct or defy the implementation of the writ, such arrest being necessary to compel obedience to a lawful order of the court, prevent escalation of hostilities, and preserve public peace and order.”

The court said the measure was necessary to compel obedience to a lawful order and to prevent the escalation of hostilities.

The ruling followed a 6 January preliminary injunction that prohibited Florentino Daynos and other defendants from maintaining barricades along the road. While a physical gate was initially removed, court sheriffs reported that protesters later formed a human chain, prompting the suspension of enforcement due to rising tensions.

Attolba said the formation of a human barricade constituted a patent act of disobedience and a clear circumvention of the court’s authority.

He stressed that a writ of preliminary injunction is a command that must be obeyed fully, not a mere suggestion, warning that defiance undermines the administration of justice.

“Any act intended to thwart, defeat, or render inutile the lawful orders of the Court constitute defiance of judicial authority and tends to bring the administration of justice into disrepute,” the court said.

The court reiterated that forming a human barricade after the removal of physical obstructions is a clear circumvention of the writ and a patent act of disobedience.

The legal dispute centers on the application of the Philippine Mining Act. Based on existing records and pleadings, the court ruled that a full trial on disputed facts was not required to issue the order.

The court also authorized the PNP to initiate criminal proceedings against individuals who continue to defy the writ.