Itogon, Benguet — Indigenous peoples (IPs) and residents of Sitio Dalicno, Barangay Ampucao, and Barangay Poblacion in Itogon, Benguet manifested their resolve to defend their agricultural lands from extractive mining as they staged a demonstration on January 27, 2026, in the presence of officials from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) Cordillera and local government units.

The protest was held at the Itogon Training Center (ITC) in Bua, Tuding, Itogon, where the DENR and the municipal government conducted a public scoping to outline the potential environmental impacts of the Sangilo Mines Expansion (APSA 103) of Itogon-Suyoc Resources Inc. (ISRI).

Public scoping is a critical stage in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, intended to identify key issues and concerns that must be addressed in a project’s environmental study.

Under the APSA 103 agreement, the government authorized ISRI to conduct mining operations across 581 hectares covering the barangays of Ampucao, Poblacion, and Virac. The 25-year contract allows the extraction of an estimated 22 million tons of gold-bearing ore.

On July 21, 2024, residents of Dalicno filed a civil case before the Regional Trial Court in La Trinidad against ISRI and several government agencies, including the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), DENR, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and the Itogon Indigenous Peoples Organization (IIPO). The case questioned the alleged violation of indigenous rights, particularly the legitimacy of the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) process.

The residents claimed that the mining company and state agencies failed to properly secure community consent before approving mining activities within their ancestral domain.

However, by late 2025, Benguet RTC Branch 62 dismissed the petitions seeking to nullify the Certification Precondition (CP) and the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). The court cited procedural violations, specifically “forum shopping,” noting that similar cases were simultaneously filed with the NCIP. As a result, the court upheld the validity of the agreements approved by the NCIP, and on November 13, 2025, it denied a motion for reconsideration. During the same period, prosecutors also dismissed related criminal complaints against ISRI personnel due to insufficient evidence.

Despite these legal setbacks, the IPs remain firm in their opposition to the mining project. Residents asserted that the court’s dismissal was based on technical grounds rather than a substantive review of environmental and ancestral land issues.

Protesters from the communities most directly affected by the mining application reiterated their determination to defend their ancestral lands, warning that the expansion could cause irreversible environmental damage.

They also raised concerns over the possible contamination and depletion of water sources, noting that most residents depend on the land for their livelihood and fear displacement if mining operations are expanded.