JUNK WOGGLE CORPORATION'S EXPLORATION PERMIT NOW!

Environmentalists staged an indignation protest in the entrance of the Mines and Geo Sciences Bureau Central Office, in the morning of February 12, and submitted a petition containing a Motion for the Early Resolution in the case to fully cancel Woggle Corporation’s exploration permit.

The protest was staged in support of the case hearing of the 7 anti-mining residents who were unlawfully arrested during the violent dispersal of the last barricade in Brgy. Bitnong, Sitio Keon.

Simultaneously, a mass mobilization was held by the anti-mining residents of Brgy. Bitnong, Dupax del Norte at the Bayombong Capitol in order to condemn the large-scale mining operations in Nueva Vizcaya and to call for the immediate abolition of the new charges of indirect contempt levied against them.

Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (KPNE) Spokesperson Jonila Castro portrayed the temporary suspension as the bare minimum of measures that the aforementioned agency must undertake. Without the full and immediate cancellation of the destructive permit, she emphasizes that Dupax del Norte will always remain vulnerable to the imminent threat to the large-scale extraction of their resources.

Julieta Gomez, a manobo leader from SANDUGO, emphasized that it is indigenous people who are most vulnerable to the greed of private interest with numerous cases of human rights violations and land-grabbing at the backdrop of the implementation of its operations.

Militarisation, erosion of ancestral-right, and the loss of indigenous land at the guise of development projects and large-scale mining is a struggle faced by ALL indigenous people who continue to resist despite the collusion of government agencies who are supposed to protect their common interest.

The Climate Change Network for Community-based Initiatives (CCNCI) underscores the utmost necessity to strengthen and expand the broad alliance of different civil society organizations in furtherance of the struggle against large-scale mining in the entirety of Nueva Vizcaya. As a region that boasts rich deposits of mineral resources, it remains vulnerable to the greed of large-scale foreign mining companies.

Broad local and international support must be swift and sustained until the project is completely dissolved. In the campaign against mining, more efforts should be made to amplify and strengthen the support and commitment of communities in this prolonged fight against corporate greed.

The temporary suspension is further proof that concrete and meaningful change can be achieved through collective action and should serve as inspiration for other communities of farmers and indigenous people who face the similar struggles as the residents of Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya.

In matters of environmental defense, it is important that all of us speak up. From social media to other mediums, the temporary suspension of Woggle Corporation’s permit is proof that institutional neglect remains the norm and dissent remains a strong force in ensuring that it operates in the interest of the people.

It is high time that we hold to account these dysfunctions and shed light on the complicity of public officials in the worsening state of our environment.

𝐃𝐀𝐆𝐀, 𝐁𝐈𝐀𝐆, 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐁𝐀𝐊𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐆

𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐊𝐍𝐈𝐁𝐀𝐍!