DEFENDING THEIR LAND Residents of Kasibu and Dupax del Norte towns in Nueva Vizcaya hold a protest outside the Department of Environment and Natural Resources office in Quezon City to demand the revocation of a mining permit covering 4,456 hectares in Kasibu. They say the permit was given without their consent. —Grig C. Montegrande
MANILA, Philippines — Residents affected by mining in the municipalities of Kasibu and Dupax del Norte in Nueva Vizcaya, along with various groups, marched on Tuesday to the central offices of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Quezon City to demand the immediate revocation of North Luzon Mineral Resources Corp.’s (NLMRC) exploration permit.
The permit granted on June 25, 2025 allows the mining company to explore for gold, copper and other minerals in approximately 4,456 hectares of land in Kasibu municipality.
Community leaders, however, said the project endangers farms, water sources, homes and ancestral domains. They claim that it was approved without the genuine free, prior and informed consent of affected indigenous peoples.
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