Philippine police arrested three environmental defenders at an anti-mining barricade in Nueva Vizcaya on Aug. 19, days after advocacy groups reported a growing number of lawsuits against community leaders and lawyers opposing mining operations in the northern province.
Lei Jin Dugay, Donny Dugay, and June Fiataccag were arrested at a community barricade in Kasibu town, according to environmental groups monitoring the dispute.
The three are members of the Kasibu Inter-Tribal Response for Ecological Development, which has joined residents opposing the operations of North Luzon Mineral Resources Corp.
The Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines said that about 33 to 40 police officers, accompanied by village officials, arrived at about 7:30 a.m. to facilitate the entry of seven barrels of fuel.
The fuel was reportedly intended for a government road project in Barangay Pao that would use an NLMRC backhoe.
Residents questioned the delivery because of its reported connection to the mining company and asked officials to present documents authorizing the shipment.
CEC-Philippines said residents found that the approved document covered only five of the seven barrels. The arrests took place while residents and barangay officials were negotiating over the delivery, the group said.
Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment said the truck carrying the fuel later backed out of the area accompanied by police officers, while other residents remained at the barricade.
Lawyer Ellice Balgos, counsel for the three arrested residents, said police refused to speak with her following the arrests.
“I am the lawyer of those they arrested, but they [PNP] refused to talk to me after making the arrests very early in the morning. Do not arrest people if you are not prepared to explain why you are arresting them,” Balgos said in Filipino and English.
Balgos also said police prevented her from speaking with her clients by phone and stopped other residents from taking videos of the incident.
The arrests came five days after the Defend Nueva Vizcaya Movement and partner groups said nearly 20 Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or SLAPP, cases had been filed in Nueva Vizcaya and neighboring Isabela.
Among the latest were cyberlibel complaints filed by NLMRC against lawyers Edgardo Balgos and Fidel Santos, community leader Florentino Daynos II, and Indigenous leader Lei Jin Dugay.
The groups said the latest complaint was received on Aug. 13.
Communities in Kasibu have maintained barricades since May to restrict the movement of fuel, equipment and ore samples linked to NLMRC’s exploration activities, according to Kalikasan PNE.
The group said residents have raised concerns over the lack of meaningful community consultation and the possible effects of mining activities on their environment, livelihoods and rights.
CEC-Philippines, the Alyansa ng Novo Vizcayano para sa Kalikasan, and Kalikasan PNE called for the immediate release of the three and condemned what they described as continuing harassment of environmental defenders in Kasibu.
Kalikasan PNE described the arrests as “a blatant act of harassment and intimidation against communities defending their land, environment, and livelihoods.”
The College Editors Guild of the Philippines-Cagayan Valley also condemned the arrests and urged campus journalists in the region to report on attacks against communities and environmental defenders.
The Nueva Vizcaya Police Provincial Office later confirmed the arrests but gave a different account of the confrontation.
Police said an Isuzu Elf truck carrying seven barrels of diesel intended for the improvement of farm-to-market roads in Barangay Pao encountered the barricade along Aling Barangay Road at about 7:40 a.m.
The provincial police office said Kasibu police officers responded after receiving a report from a barangay councilor and attempted to resolve the situation through dialogue.
“Despite the dialogue, the group reportedly lowered a bamboo barricade and placed physical obstacles across the roadway, preventing the passage of the service vehicle,” the police statement said.
Police said officers arrested the three after attempts to clear the obstruction failed. The three were informed of their constitutional rights and brought to the Kasibu Police Station for documentation and legal proceedings, according to the statement.
The police statement did not identify the specific offense for which the three were arrested or any charges to be filed against them.
