DUPAX DEL NORTE, Nueva Vizcaya — The mist-covered hills of Barangay Bitnong have become a symbol of unyielding defiance as local residents continue their battle against large-scale mining, even after a massive police operation dismantled their physical defenses last week.
According to ABS-CBN News, human rights groups have condemned the “excessive force” used by over 300 police personnel to dismantle an anti-mining barricade in Sitio Keon on January 23, 2026. The operation enforced a court injunction, resulting in the arrest of seven residents, including leader Florentino Daynos and several women.
Advocates described the dispersal as state-backed “intimidation” to facilitate the entry of Woggle Corporation’s machinery. The crackdown targeted unarmed farmers and indigenous residents who maintain that the project lacks the required community consultation and threatens their local environment.
In a significant turn of events on January 26, 2026, the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Nueva Vizcaya dismissed all criminal charges against the arrested residents for lack of merit. The dismissal is being hailed as a major moral victory, reinforcing the community’s claim that their protest was a legitimate exercise of constitutional rights. “They can remove our logs and rocks, but they cannot remove our resolve to protect our land,” said one resident following their release.
The conflict centers on Woggle Corporation, which holds a 3,100-hectare exploration permit for gold and copper. For the people of Bitnong, the project is a direct threat to their survival. The permit covers critical headwaters that irrigate rice fields across five barangays. Residents fear that drilling will contaminate water sources and cause excessive noise pollution, disrupting their daily lives and the schooling of their children. A primary grievance remains the alleged lack of genuine community consultation; residents claim their signatures were deceptively obtained during the distribution of government aid and later used as proof of consent.
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The struggle has drawn nationwide attention. Bishop Jose Elmer Mangalinao of the Diocese of Bayombong has issued a scathing condemnation of the government’s actions, calling for an end to “state-backed corporate plunder.” National environmental groups and the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) have joined the call for the DENR to revoke the permit as reported by Philippine daily inquirer. .
Despite the entry of machinery into the site, the spirit of the resistance remains unbroken. Local leaders are now pursuing higher legal remedies, asserting that the Constitution protects their right to a balanced and healthful ecology. As the “Bitnong Seven” return to their families, the community remains on high alert, proving that while the physical barricade may be gone, their fight for the land has only just begun.
