Urgent Alert
January 18, 2026
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) stands in firm solidarity with the residents of Dupax Del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya as they bravely oppose the entry of British mining company Woggle Corporation into their lands through a people’s barricade.
We condemn the escalating attacks by the Woggle Corporation against the locals who are rightfully asserting their right to land. We are raising the alarm over the environmental destruction, loss of livelihood, and attacks on peasant and rural communities Dupax. We condemn in equal terms the connivance of state forces and local government agencies in allowing the entry of the mining company, prioritizing profit over the welfare of the people.
The conflict between Woggle Corporation and the residents of Dupax Del Norte dates back to August 4, 2025, when the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) granted an Exploration Permit (EP) to the UK-based mining company for its Dupax Exploration Project. The permit covers over 3,100 hectares of land that spans five barangays in the locality. Woggle targeted the municipality because of its rich gold and copper deposits.
The EP was granted despite several environmental, procedural irregularities, and widespread objection from the communities. A month prior, Woggle had already uprooted trees in Sitio Keon, Bitnong and worse this is without any permission from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Opposition to Woggle heightened throughout August 2025. The peasant community along with church leaders, lawyers, environmentalists, and even barangay councils and local government units denounced the mining project and called for the cancellation of its permits.
In September 2025, residents of Bitnong erected barricades to prevent the entry of Woggle’s employees and mining equipment. As a response, Woggle sought and was awarded a court-issued Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) by Nueva Vizcaya Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 30 Judge Paul Attolba Jr. The judge explicitly ordered the arrest of anyone who “willfully disobeys, obstructs, or resists” the court order and even allowed the filing of contempt charges.
Tensions heightened on October 17, 2025, as hundreds of uniformed police and masked individuals violently dispersed the barricade, arresting three people in the process. In December 12, 2025, residents reported harassment, theft, and destruction and confiscation of property perpetrated by Woggle and its employees.
In the latest development, RTC Branch 30 on January 13 issued a Writ of Preliminary Injunction, ordering the removal of the barricades and allowing the entry of Woggle. Despite the court order, the residents alongside environmental advocates and organizations remain firm and continue to oppose it through the barricades.
The resistance of the people of Dupax Del Norte against Woggle is emblematic of how imperialist plunder operates in the Philippines—multinational companies bypass permits, rig processes, use various methods of deception and bribery to acquire consent from locals, and worse, resort to the use of military and police force to drive away and kill those who resist. Foreign companies aggressively target the Philippines due to it being the fifth-most mineral-rich country in the world.
It also exposes the duplicitous role of state agencies in wilfully allowing the entry of these companies. Both the Marcos Jr. government and the previous Duterte administration are complicit—Duterte for lifting the nine-year ban on open-pit mining in 2021, and Marcos Jr. for signing the Enhanced Fiscal Regime for Large-Scale Metallic Mining Act in 2025 that eases application for mining corporations.
ICHRP is inspired by the bravery of the people of Dupax Del Norte in resisting Woggle and for fighting for their right to land. We condemn Woggle’s attacks against the people, and we call on the Marcos Jr. government to act swiftly in cancelling Woggle’s mining permits and protect the livelihood and welfare of the people against corporate profit and widespread environmental destruction.
