Urgent Alert
September 3, 2026
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) strongly condemns the arrest of eleven environmental defenders in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya last August 28, 2026.
The arrested individuals were part of the anti-mining barricade set up by local residents to oppose the destructive mining project in the province by the North Luzon Mineral Resources Corporation (NLMRC). NLMRC personnel assisted by elements of the Nueva Vizcaya Philippine National Police (PNP) attempted to bring in crude oil for the company’s drilling equipment at the exploration site. As of September 1, they are now temporarily free after posting bail.
Video footage shows the PNP violently arresting the eleven individuals after intense scuffles against the locals. Various local and national groups strongly condemned the Nueva Vizcaya PNP’s actions. They exposed the local police force’s active connivance with big mining corporations by facilitating the easy entry of mining equipment and breaking up opposition by the affected communities.
The incident follows the arrest of three environmental defenders from the Kasibu Intertribal Response for Ecological Development in the same mining barricade last August 19. Similar to the eleven individuals, the three were slapped with grave coercion and disobedience charges and are currently out on bail.
Earlier this year, seven land defenders were also arrested in a similar anti-mining barricade in Dupax Del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya. Strong opposition by the residents successfully halted the operations of mining projects by British-owned company Woggle Corporation.
The intensifying human rights violations and increasingly aggressive mining ventures of multinational corporations in Nueva Vizcaya reflect the Marcos Jr. government’s brazen sell out of the country’s critical minerals and natural resources to imperialist plunder, as the US desperately scrambles to secure access to crucial resources for weapons production in its war preparations against China.
In the past year, Marcos Jr. signed and passed the following laws and issuances:
- EO 122 or the National Policy Framework for Developing the Critical Minerals Industry and Reorganizing the Mining Industry Council for the Purpose on August 21, 2026;
- Joined the US-led Pax Silica initiative last April 17, 2026;
- US-Philippines Critical Minerals Memorandum of Agreement last February 4, 2026;
- Republic Act No. 12253 or the Enhanced Fiscal Regime for Large-Scale Metallic Mining Act, signed on September 4, 2025; and
- Republic Act 12252 or the Amended Investors Lease Act last September 3, 2025.
Amidst Marcos Jr.’s shameless kowtowing to US strategic interests, ICHRP stands firmly in solidarity with the people of Nueva Vizcaya and other communities bravely fighting against destructive mining projects and US-led imperialist plunder.
###
