A British company filed an Application for Temporary Restraining Order and/or Writ of Preliminary Injuction against protesting residents conducting a barricade against mining explorations in their community.
Woggle Corporation filed the petition against 21 residents of Barangay Bitnong, Dupax del Norte in Nueva Vizcaya at the Regional Trial Court Branch 30 in nearby Bayombong town which held the case’s first hearing last Monday, October 13.
The residents put up a barricade leading to the exploration site last September 17, citing dangers to their water sources, forests and livelihood.
Woggle Corp. Mining Inc. is a subsidiary of Metals Exploration Inc. given a gold and copper exploration permit last August 7 covering 3,100 hectares in the said municipality.
Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan-PNE) condemned Woogle’s petition as intimidation in an attempt to silence widespread opposition to the company’s operations.
“The barricade is a legitimate form of protest, a desperate but honorable way to oppose the real dangers to their environment paused by Woggle Corp.,” Kalikasan-PNE said.
The group said the protesters are farmers, indigenous peoples and local residents who are peacefully defending their ancestral domain.
WHAT WENT BEFORE:
1. N. Vizcaya village nixes British firm’s mining exploration bid
2. Nueva Vizcaya peoples’ org asks DENR: cancel mine permit
3. Town Council Rebuffs Mining Firm: No Prior Consultation Conducted
4. Lawmakers Press DENR To Revoke British Firm’s Permit Over Violations
Taripnong Cagayan Valley, a Metro Manila-based support group to Region 2 residents, also condemned Woogle’s new tactic, reporting their representatives accompanied the defendants to their Court date.
No further information on the result of the hearing had been made public as of this writing. # (Raymund B.Villanueva)
