NEWS

SEN. Francis Pangilinan on Tuesday, Nov. 3, called on the authorities to stop using force against farmers and Indigenous residents in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, who have been resisting a mining exploration project.

Pangilinan urged the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police leadership to protect the residents’ rights and livelihoods, saying authorities should not resort to violence, arrests, or intimidation against communities defending their land and water sources.

“Why should farmers in Kasibu have to defend themselves, their land and their livelihoods against authorities who are supposed to protect them?” Pangilinan said in a statement.

Pangilinan expressed solidarity with rice and corn farmers, as well as growers of various fruits and vegetables, saying their fight was also about protecting the country’s food supply and the future of communities that depend on agriculture.

Residents have maintained barricades since May to prevent personnel and equipment from entering for exploration activities by North Luzon Mineral Resources Corp.

The company secured an exploration permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and Geosciences Bureau on June 25, 2025, covering about 4,456 hectares for gold, copper, and other mineral exploration.

The residents, including members of Indigenous communities, have questioned the permit’s issuance, citing concerns over the consultation process, their ancestral land rights, and the possible effects of exploration on farms, water sources and livelihoods.

The dispute has also led to several arrests. On Aug. 28, police dispersed a barricade in Barangay Paquet and arrested 11 protesters who were accused of blocking vehicles carrying fuel for the company’s exploration operations. The protesters were later released after posting bail.

The latest confrontation occurred on Oct. 30, when police assisted a provincial sheriff in implementing a temporary restraining order issued by the Regional Trial Court in Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya. The order directed the removal of barricades blocking access to the exploration site.

The Police Regional Office 2 said seven officers were injured during the confrontation, claiming that protesters threw rocks and sticks at personnel and damaged a vehicle. Police maintained that they were enforcing a court order and were not acting on behalf of the mining company.

The standoff ended after the sheriff and representatives of the protesting group held talks, with the residents subsequently dismantling the barricades and returning police equipment, according to the police.

Earlier in October, residents and environmental and Indigenous rights groups also filed administrative and criminal complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman against police personnel, local officials and the mining company over alleged abuses and irregularities related to the dispute.

Pangilinan said the farmers had maintained their barricades for nearly six months to demand accountability over an exploration permit they questioned on grounds involving the consultation process and recognition of their land rights.

He also raised concerns over whether the project had secured genuine free, prior and informed consent from affected Indigenous communities.

“Standing with them — not resorting to violence, arrests or intimidation — is what the authorities should do,” Pangilinan said.

The senator reminded the police that their duty was to protect ordinary citizens, not corporate interests that could harm communities and threaten food production.

He also urged the courts to ensure that farmers’ legitimate grievances were heard, particularly issues involving land ownership and environmental protection.

The DENR, meanwhile, should act as a genuine steward of the country’s natural resources and the communities that depend on them, rather than simply approving mining permits, he said.

Pangilinan stressed that an exploration permit should not be treated as a license to trample on the rights of ordinary Filipinos.

“A project that drives people from their own land or destroys the crops that feed us cannot be called development,” he said.

“The farmers of Kasibu are not the enemy. They and their livelihoods are the ones law enforcers should be protecting,” Pangilinan added.

Source: The Manila Times