Woggle Corporation personnel stormed residents’ barricade in Upper Tacbao, barangay Bitnong on the afternoon of December 12. Colluding with the PNP-Dupax del Norte, they threatened, harassed, and insulted the residents manning the barricade and destroyed their belongings. This was company’s response after finding its excavator burned that same day.

The guards seized the cellphones and IDs of residents who were documenting the violence. They also tried to steal a generator, two gas tanks, stove, solar panel, tarpaulins, and kitchen items. The personnel also removed the company vehicles which were illegally parked inside the sitio.

The personnel stopped and tried to force two female residents to undress. Police officers also aimed their guns at residents when they asserted their rights. The residents were not able to livestream the incident on social media or call for help as there was no cell signal in the area.

On November 15, Woggle Corporation used Typhoon Uwan as a pretext to sneak in vehicles and machinery into the exploration site. The company claimed using the excavator to clear the road of a landslide in the barangay. However, residents said the company actually collected river water samples for its investigation into the types of minerals present in the area. The barricade prevented operators from retrieving the wheel excavator as well as the company’s three pickup trucks and one light truck.

The group Alyansa ng Novo Vizcayano para sa Kalikasan (ANVIK) expressed concern over the violence committed against the residents of barangay Bitnong.

“This narrative of arson would hopefully not be used as a pretext to press charges or resort to violence against the people defending their rights in the area against the foreign mining company,” the group said.

Residents and anti-mining advocates strongly condemned the company’s harassment and violence.

“What they are doing to us people of upper Tagbao is heartbreaking and infuriating. Let us not allow ourselves to be harassed, threatened, or silenced. Let us use our outrage to hold them [Woggle Corporation] accountable for all their violations against the people of Nueva Vizcaya. We must not let them get away with this. Let us support the barricade,” Atty. Ellice Balgos, one of the lawyers of the anti-mining group in Dupax del Norte, said.