The National Democratic Front of the Philippines in Cagayan Valley vehemently condemns the planned extension of the destructive Didipio Gold-Copper Mine operations until 2037 by Canadian-Australian mining company OceanaGold.

On July 4, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, during his Canada state visit, proudly posed with company officers of OceanaGold to announce their agreement of a US$ 1.9 billion investment to extend Didipio Gold-Copper Mine operations until 2037. Again, Marcos signed away the Filipino’s people’s rights to our natural wealth.

The Didipio Gold-Copper Mine in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, spans about 27,000 hectares and is believed to hold 1.41 million ounces of gold and 169,400 tons of copper. It is operated by Australian-Canadian mining company OceanaGold. After several years of operation, the project has threatened the local water system, which is critical to the community’s survival, to their agricultural livelihood, and to the surrounding ecosystems.

Marcos presented the US$ 1.9 billion foreign investment as a “big win” for the local economy. However, this does not at all bring a genuine development for the people, but rather a large-scale operation that will plunder and destroy the country’s natural resources, minerals, land, and livelihood, and eject residents from their homes and push them deeper into poverty and oppression.

These long-term environmental impacts are common for open-pit mining. In a time of worsening climate crisis, the widespread stripping of land and mountains increases flooding and landslides during heavy rains and typhoons. Open-pit mining also poses serious health risks. Dust, chemicals, mine tailings and contaminated water cause respiratory diseases, skin diseases, and other serious illnesses, especially among children and the elderly.

Around 4,000 indigenous people living in the villages of Didipio and Alimit, in Kasibu town, Nueva Vizcaya province have continuously mounted strong opposition to the OceanaGold’s mining operation over the past few years. In Dupax del Norte as well, people had been building barricades against Woggle Corporation. However, these greedy foreign mining corporations has been able to continue their operations and will expand even further through the Marcos Jr. regime’s collaboration.

The monopoly capitalists’ demand for minerals continue to rise as they intensify their production for trade, modern technology and for imperialist wars. Through neoliberal policies imposed by imperialist US, the Philippine mining sector has been widely opened up to big foreign corporations. Restrictions to foreign investors allowing up to 100% foreign ownership in large-scale mining operations of valuable minerals like gold, copper, and nickel.

This is completely applied to the newly-signed Pax Silica initiative which further intensifies foreign plunder of the Philippines’ minerals resources. Agreements such as the Pax Silica that tie us into servitude to imperialist powers such as the US and its allies Canada and Australia, should be immediately terminated.

Marcos Jr’s continuing collusion with OceanaGold, Woggle and other foreign mining companies’ in plundering our mineral resources highlights the need to strengthen our resistance against large-scale and destructive foreign mining. It is the corruption and subservience of the Marcos Jr regime to foreign investors which facilitates the perpetuation ang expansion of destructive mining.

The wealth of water, land, forests ang mountains are the life and livelihood of the people. Minerals and other natural resources are the base for national industrialization for our country to be unbound from chronic crisis, that is bred and prolonged by US imperialist control to the Philippines.

The NDF-CV calls on the people of Cagayan Valley to unite with communities of Kasibu in resisting the worsening foreign plunder of our natural wealth.

The anti-mining barricades in Dupax del Norte and Kasibu are strongholds of the Cagayano people’s steadfast resistance to plunderous and destructive foreign mining. We should continue mounting, expanding and strengthening these barricades as these are our powerful shields against all forms of incursion to our right to our land and natural wealth.

On top of these, only the people’s war can decisively kick out the large-scale foreign mining corporations. Only through the national democratic revolution through the people’s war can we develop an economy based on genuine agrarian reform and national industrialization towards building a socialist society that would surely bestow a prosperous life for the Filipino people.