Communities opposing mining destruction in the Philippines have been facing more and more repression. In a country whose elites have long submitted to US economic and political interests, state authorities and mining firms have both been increasingly intimidating activists because of their firm resistance.
Intimidation from both lawyers and the police
The North Luzon Mineral Resources Corporation (NLMRC) has headquarters in the metropolitan area of Philippine capital, Manila. It claims its mining operations, over five hours to the north in Nueva Vizcaya, are “responsible” and follow “rigorous regulatory and environmental standards”. Local people, however, disagree.
The problem, as the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) Britain explained, is that:
NLMRC holds an exploration permit… in Kasibu, granted in June 2025 despite residents’ objections. Indigenous Bugkalot/Ilongot communities say the permit area overlaps their ancestral domain and threatens their water sources and livelihoods, and that the company’s proof of consultation relied on attendance sheets from an unrelated community activity.
As a result:
Since May 2026, residents have maintained seven barricades across the affected barangays to block drilling equipment
These efforts have so far been successful.
NLMRC has responded to this resistance with legal attempts to shut its critics up, via ‘strategic lawsuits against public participation’ (SLAPPs). SLAPPs are a tool that wealthy parties use to try and silence ordinary people who speak out via “costly, stressful and unpredictable legal action”. They’re essentially an elite attack on free speech.
ICHRP noted that there have been:
at least 21 cases brought by NLMRC and its allies against Kasibu’s anti-mining leaders and their counsel, calling the pattern a textbook SLAPP campaign designed “to silence, intimidate, and ultimately deter public participation.” Naming lawyers alongside the community members they represent is a deliberate tactic: it strips defenders of the legal support they depend on and creates a chilling effect that discourages others from coming forward.
On 5 August, meanwhile, over 30 police vehicles turned up at Kasibu’s barricades to try and get activists to stand down. Police also left armed officers. As solidarity network Yes to Life No to Mining said:
Extractive projects cannot move forward without consent and we see this as representative of a larger pattern of extractive development enforced through militarized intervention against peaceful resistance.
A familiar story, but with links to a Reform billionaire
As the Canary reported previously, a subsidiary of a British mining company has also faced community resistance in the Philippines. These activists in Dupax del Norte (which is close to Kasibu) faced violent repression and arrests in response to their barricades.
In June 2026, billionaire Reform treasurer Nick Candy was the largest shareholder of parent company Metals Exploration plc.
The efforts of activists secured an indefinite suspension of the firm’s exploration permit, as we reported in April.
Corporate and colonial influence in the Philippines remains strong
The Philippines has faced a long and brutal struggle against elite rule, from Spanish colonialists to US colonialists and then to the pro-US dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. Even after US colonialism in the country, US influence has remained strong. For example, there are regular joint military exercises, some of which have been on the rise.
Because of its strategic location close to China and Vietnam, the Philippines was a prominent laboratory during the Cold War for repressive US efforts to crush left-wing movements in Asia. Jacobin has even noted that the country was:
Crucial to the Making of American Empire
Levels of inequality and poverty have remained high as a result of ongoing elite rule and corruption. And elections have so far offered little hope of challenging this in a meaningful way.
Marcos’s son easily won the most recent presidential election, despite having consistently defended his father’s dictatorship and used online propaganda to whitewash his legacy. The winner of the vice-presidential election, meanwhile, was the daughter of disgraced outgoing president Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte will officially go on trial later this year following his 2025 capture on an International Criminal Court arrest warrant. The misogynistic extremist faces charges relating to the state killing spree under his presidency that was essentially a war on some of the country’s poorest people.
As vice-president, Duterte’s daughter Sara has no real power right now. But the Duterte and Marcos families are likely to dominate the next elections in 2028. And there’s currently no major left-wing alternative in sight.
The communities resisting mining destruction despite state repression and corporate intimidation, however, are a real cause for hope.
Featured image via the Canary
By Ed Sykes
