By Viggo Sarmago

MANILA — After almost five months of the residents’ barricade, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) temporarily suspended the Woggle Corporation’s exploration permit.

This stops for now Woggle’s exploration activities in Dupax Del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya. 

In a decision dated February 5, the MGB cited “force majeure” under the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, referring to the community’s persistent barricading as grounds for the temporary suspension.  Force majeure (French for superior force) is an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond human control that makes fulfilling contractual obligations impossible or impractical. 

On January 13, police forces dismantled an anti-mining barricade in Barangay Bitnog, Dupax Del Norte (DDN), that had been set up since September 2025. This followed the Bambang Regional Trial Court’s injunction ordering for the dismantling of the barricade. The dispute resulted in the arrest of six Indigenous women and community leader Florentino Dynos II, who still received a show cause order from the Regional Trial Court even after they were dismissed on January 26. 

While groups welcomed the suspension, they criticized the reason for it.

Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan) denounced the government for framing the protests as a disruption to Woggle’s mining ventures and demanded the cancellation of the permit. They exposed drilling operations in Dupax despite the suspension, questioning the Department of Environment and National Resources’ (DENR) inaction. 

“We reject any attempt to use the suspension as a justification for militarization, intimidation, or the dismantling of people’s barricades, as seen in the brutal dispersal of the Didipio barricade against OceanaGold, Dupax Del Norte in October 2025 and the violent enforcement of the injunction last January 23. The temporary suspension aims to quell the people’s uprising against plunder, corruption, and fascist attacks,“ Kalikasan said.

The Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP) said that arrests would continue to pose a threat to the community. YACAP plans to launch an awareness caravan to share the communities’ experiences as regards the mining exploration in Nueva Vizcaya and to mobilize the youth in holding corporations and the government accountable. They also called for the protection of the environment and its defenders.

Kabataan Partylist said that the DENR has no intention of revoking the permit completely.  “The [decision] itself says that the permit was suspended because of persistent protests… It is clear that the DENR does not intend to completely revoke the exploration permit. The fight must continue to evict foreign mining companies from illegally encroaching on our ancestral land and environment,” Kabataan Rep. Renee Co said in Filipino.

She urged the House of Representatives to continue investigating Woggle’s operations in Dupax Del Norte. She said that the community’s victory should inspire others to fight for the environment and the future. (CAM, DAA)