Filipinos in the United Kingdom protested in front of the Metals Exploration PLC headquarters in London to denounce its involvement in the Woggle Corporation’s mining operations in Dupax, Nueva Vizcaya. The protest coincided with the commemoration of the National Peasants Day on Oct. 21. 

During the protest, members progressive organizations posted an eviction notice on the office door of Metals Exploration PLC. The letter signed by the organizations demands the immediate withdrawal of mining activities and the cessation of militarization in Dupax, Nueva Vizcaya. 

Communities affected are resisting the operations of the Woggle Corporation as it threatens their land, water and ancestral rights. This resistance, however, was met with judicial harassment as residents and leaders were slapped with criminal charges. 

A least 3,100-hectare exploration project is reportedly linked to Metals Exploration PLC.

“This is not a local dispute; this is part of a global system of land grabbing and corporate greed protected by repressive government and financed by foreign capital, including British capital,” said Sherald Sanchez of the International Coalition on Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP).

Allan Mendoza of Migrante UK added, “The people defending their lands in Nueva Vizcaya, the farmers, the Indigenous communities, the workers, are the same people as us. We [are] forced to leave our land because of greed and exploitation!”

Note: The article has been updated to correct the name of the mining company. It should be Metals Exploration PLC, not Metals Resource PLC as earlier stated. We apologize for the mistake.

Text by Anne Marxze D. Uml 
Photos by Bayan-United Kingdom