Nueva Vizcaya residents file raps vs PNP over anti-mining arrests

Residents of Kasibu and Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya, trooped to the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday to file administrative and criminal complaints against the Philippine National Police (PNP) over the recent arrest of the Kasibu 11, who were involved in a human barricade against mining activities.

Environmental and Indigenous groups joined residents in filing bribery and corruption complaints against Barangay Pao officials and North Luzon Mining Resources Corporation (NLMRC), as well as a perjury complaint concerning the PNP's account of the Kasibu 11's arrest.

Environmental defenders from Dupax del Norte also filed countercharges against the PNP over its implementation of a writ of preliminary injunction in the municipality.

“Those of us fighting for our land and environment should not be the ones being charged, but rather the people behind the push for mining and the violence against the people,” a resident of the Kasibu Intertribal Response Towards Ecological Development said.

Barricade, resistance to mining

Alyansa ng Novo Vizcayano (Alliance of Nueva Vizcaya People) stressed that “barricades” are part of the province's long history of resistance to large-scale mining.

“Nova Vizcayanos have a long history of fighting against giant-scale and foreign mining. We will continue to press government agencies until they fulfill their mandate to protect the environment and the rights of the people,” the alliance said.

“We will continue to put up barricades and build even more as long as the threat of mining remains in our communities,” it added.

On August 28, 2026, 11 people were arrested after police intervened to clear an anti-mining barricade that blocked several vehicles carrying fuel and supplies along a public road in Barangay Paquet, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, according to regional police.

In May 2026, Kasibu residents established a barricade against NLMRC to protect their agricultural lands, ancestral domains and homes.

“According to residents, the company made repeated attempts to disperse the residents manning the barricade and resume drilling operations in August 2026, during which a total of 14 people were violently arrested,” Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment (KPNE) said.

“In Dupax del Norte, residents established a barricade against Woggle Corporation in September 2025. In October 2025, a violent dispersal of the people’s barricade was accompanied by attempts to arrest three people [Kasibu 3],” the group added.

Meanwhile, the Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines (CEC PH) called for accountability and greater recognition of communities defending the environment against mining.

“The pattern of violent encounters with the police and arrests in Nueva Vizcaya is consistent. We call for accountability and greater recognition of environmental defenders who are bravely asserting their rights to their ancestral domains, livelihoods, and homes,” CEC PH executive director Mattie Balagat said.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB) approved an exploration permit for NLMRC in July 2025, covering 4,456 hectares of community land.

Environmental groups said drilling operations began without the free, prior and informed consent of affected Indigenous communities. They said the exploration area overlaps ancestral domain claims in Kasibu, raising concerns over possible violations of the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (IPRA).

The communities and environmental groups called on the Office of the Ombudsman and the DENR to address their complaints, emphasizing the need to protect residents' rights to their land, livelihoods and environment.