BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – Violence is feared to break out in mountainous Kasibu town as anti-mining villagers vowed to stand their ground against the entry of equipment of a foreign mining firm in their area despite an earlier court order for them to clear the road leading to the exploration site.
Last week, provincial sheriffs tasked to implement a court injunction gave the anti-mining residents of Kasibu five days or until tomorrow to vacate the road leading to the exploration site of Oxiana Philippines, backed by an Australian mining firm, or else be forcibly dispersed.
However, the anti-mining villagers, led by tribal elders and supported by environmental groups and the local Catholic Church, vowed to stay on until further consultations between them and Oxiana and government representatives.
“It is our roads they will be passing through. And besides, we will never be in favor of mining,” said Denny Dugay, an official of Barangay Paquet, who alleged that Oxiana did not consult local leaders on the project, an allegation which the mining firm denied.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples both said residents in the primary impact zone, majority of whom are Bugkalots, have endorsed Oxiana’s exploration project.
Engineer Jerrysal Mangaoang, MGB’s Cagayan Valley regional director, said their national office granted Oxiana a two-year exploration permit covering 3,000 hectares in the Bugkalot-dominated area to explore gold, copper and other minerals of possible commercial value.
Oxiana has filed a case against at least 21 residents, including the chairmen of four Kasibu barangays, who have prevented the entry of its exploration equipment.
The Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement and various local environmental groups said the government should not have issued an exploration permit to Oxiana since its site is part of the Palali-Mamparang watershed area.
Besides Oxiana’s, Kasibu also hosts the multibillion-peso gold-copper project of Oceana Gold Philippines, a local subsidiary of the Australian-New Zealand mining consortium Oceana Gold Ltd., in Didipio village.