MANILA – Progressive groups condemned what they described as worsening state violence against the anti-mining community in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya.

The most recent incident was the arrest of 11 individuals on August 28. After posting bail for grave coercion at resistance and disobedience cases, the 11 have been released.

Police claimed that they only responded to a 911 call from the North Luzon Mineral Resource Center (NLMRC). The residents blocked the entry of crude oil to the mining site.

According to the Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC), 13 were initially arrested but two of them were rushed to the hospital. 

This is but the latest in the series of harassment against those who are guarding the barricade as opposition to the mining exploration of the NLMRC. 

Three members of Kasibu Inter-Tribal Response towards Ecological Development (KIRED) were arbitrarily arrested on August 19. Lei Jin Dugay, Don Dugay, and June Fiataccag posted bail for charges of grave coercion and violation of the Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code.

Lawyers defending the community are also slapped with criminal charges. 

Read: 3 anti-mining Nueva Vizcaya residents released on bail, groups decry harassment

The incident has called the attention of the international community. Astrid Puentes Riaño, United Nations Rapporteur for the environment, said that she is alarmed over the situation of the environment defenders and Indigenous leaders facing threats and harassment by state forces in the Philippines.

For Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (KPNE), it is alarming that the community is continuously facing state violence when they are just only protecting their livelihood and the environment.

“This pattern confirms that mining operations threaten not just the land, but the very lives of those defending it. It further exposes how the police are failing their duty to protect the people, instead acting as enforcers for plunderous mining corporations,” KPNE stated.

KATRIBU Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas asserted that defending their land is their right and should not be treated as a crime, especially in defending ancestral land. 

“NLMRC’s mining incursion is being enforced through state violence. The deployment of police to facilitate its operations and arrest residents resisting its entry proves that the PNP [Philippine National Police] serves the interests of the mining company instead of protecting the people,” the group said.

For many months, the community has continued to defend their land by setting up seven barricades across Kasibu. The groups claimed that the Mines and Geoscience Bureau granted the NLMRC a 4,456 hectares of mining exploration without genuine consultation with the community which will be affected.

The community asserted that the mining exploration will affect the ancestral land recognized by the National Commission of Indigenous People. The commission also granted them a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title.

Read: Indigenous community rising up against mining in Nueva Vizcaya

In a statement, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) condemned the mining surge under the  Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration where he enabled the intensified extraction of critical minerals through mining.

Recently, Marcos Jr. met with executives of Canadian-based mining corporation Didipio Gold-Copper Mine and secured a P1.9 billion ($30.73 million) investment for them to operate until 2037. 

According to Bayan, such a move is selling out the  land and environment to foreign plunderers that led to the  massive flooding and landslide in the country. 

“Over the past year, we saw how the people of Dupax and Kasibu defended their communities by protesting the entry of extractive companies. Those who profit from mining plunder retaliated by filing SLAPP suits and weaponizing state machineries to undermine local resistance,” Bayan said.

SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. According to the lawyers of Kasibu residents over 30 SLAPP cases were filed against the Indigenous Peoples and environmental defenders who are defending their land against mining in Nueva Vizcaya alone.

The groups called for a “halt to destructive mining activities in Kasibu and make Marcos Jr accountable for letting the state violence happen to the community who are only protecting their land and livelihood.”  (AMU, RVO)