đź“·: Courtesy of Altermidya
by Diego Morra
Dura lex, sed lex. The law is hard but that is the law, says the Latin aphorism. Yet, the law cannot be blind to facts and must pierce the corporate veil that hides not only beneficial ownership and interlocking directorates (and one agency has revealed that nearly 70% of registered firms bidding for government contracts are owned by officials, their relatives or their nominees.) This dubious practice is not sui generis to Filipino businessmen. The British practice e it, so do the Americans, the Chinese, the French, the Germans, Japanese and the Russian spawn of the Golden Horde.
The people of Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya are actually up in arms against the operations of Woggle Corp., a mining company owned 40% by the London-based Metals Exploration Plc and 60% by FCF Corp., which is also controlled by Metals Exploration Plc., as the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) found out. On this basis alone, the ownership structure exceeds the constitutional restriction on foreign ownership of mining ventures. This scheme has been overused by many mining corporations that have organized local partners to circumvent the law, with Chinese owners calling the shots for the so-called majority owners who can classifiably be tagged as mere dummies.
KMP condemned the recent court-backed dismantling of the people’s barricade in Dupax del Norte, tagging it as a a clear case of state repression serving foreign-led mining interests at the expense of peasants, local communities and the environment. The January 6, 2026 resolution of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya ordered the removal of barricades along Keon Barangay Road in Barangay Bitnong, and affirmed a writ of preliminary injunction that allowed Woggle to continue its exploration. The ruling followed the violent dispersal of the people’s barricade on Oct. 17, 2025 by the police and masked individuals and its partial enforcement by the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Jan. 13, 2026.
“The courts, the police, and local authorities are acting in unison to silence peasants and communities who are only defending their land and livelihoods,” said KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos. “Instead of scrutinizing the questionable exploration permit granted to Woggle Corp., the state has chosen to criminalize the people and legitimize mining aggression.” The barricade was put up by residents of Dupax del Norte to prevent Woggle Corp. from entering their communities after the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) issued an exploration permit in August 2025 covering approximately 3,100 hectares across the barangays of Bitnong, Inaban, Mungia, Parai, and Oyao. This permit was granted, KMP explained, despite the absence of genuine community consent and despite serious environmental and procedural concerns raised by residents, Church groups, and environmental advocates.
Community organizations and alliances have pointed out that the issuance and enforcement of Woggle’s permit illustrate how corruption and bureaucrat capitalism operate in mining areas. While Woggle’s permit is officially limited to exploration, the company’s actions are evidently intended for full-scale mining, including preparations for processing facilities in Runruno that are expected to be operational by 2027. These developments signal an expansion of destructive mining operations in Nueva Vizcaya and neighboring provinces, carried out without regard for the will of affected communities.
Resistance to the Woggle Corp. venture has been strong, with the residents organizing themselves to prevent what they called an “illegitimate” operation by a foreign company that never secured the consent of the communities that will inherit all the environmental problems caused by extractive operations. Nueva Vizcaya is no stranger to such ecological defense, with resistance against the operations of Oceana Gold Phils., Inc. (OGPI) in Didipio, Kasibu town continuing. This mine combines both open pit and underground mining and its gold and copper deposit is expected to last in 15 years. Last year, OGPI boasted that it paid P398 million in local business taxes for the operations of its 27,000-hectare mining tenement. The Didipio mine is estimated to have 1.59 million ounces of gold and 0.21 million tons of copper. The mine has an expected life of 16 years.
“The situation in Dupax del Norte shows how foreign mining companies, with the backing of corrupt officials, can override community decisions and environmental safeguards,” KMP chairman Danilo Ramos argued. “This is land grabbing disguised as development, and peasants are being forced to bear the social and ecological costs.” Woggle’s activities threaten not only Dupax del Norte. The Sierra Madre mountain range, one of Northern Luzon’s most important watersheds, faces serious risk from mining exploration. Taking note of the recurrent destruction of mining ponds in the Cordillera, Mindanao and even the recent spillage of the Gokongwei ethanol plant in Negros Oriental that polluted the Tanon Strait, Woggle should explain how it proposes to tackle disasters that lurk in every mine and mill. KMP claims that the wastewater generated by Woggle could contaminate rivers, destroy forests, and undermine food production in farming communities. Residents and environmental groups have repeatedly warned that mining in this ecologically fragile area could trigger landslides and flooding, recalling the deadly landslide in Runruno in 2020 during Typhoon Ulysses that claimed the lives of nine people. Mining operations were blamed for the disaster.
Despite harassment, intimidation, and the threat of arrest, residents of Dupax del Norte continue to assert their right to defend their land and environment. KMP emphasized that the people’s barricade is a legitimate form of collective action against environmental destruction and rural dispossession, not a criminal act. “Defending the land is not a crime. What is criminal is allowing foreign mining companies to ravage our lands, forests, and water sources with the full backing of the state,” Ramos said. “KMP stands firmly with the peasants of Dupax del Norte and all communities resisting destructive mining.” KMP reiterated its call for the immediate revocation of Woggle Corporation’s exploration permit, an end to the harassment and criminalization of land and environmental defenders, and genuine accountability for the corruption that enables foreign mining interests to operate with impunity.
