Bagong Alyansang Makabayan expresses alarm over reports that the police in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, are attempting to forcibly remove the anti-mining Pacquet Barricade, which was set up by residents, farmers, Indigenous Peoples, and environmental defenders in May to oppose the destructive large-scale mining operations of North Luzon Resources Mining Corp.
We hold the police and the government of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accountable for the violent dispersal operations and the threat to arrest community leaders in the barricade. The police should stand down and respect the right of the community to protect their lands from mining plunder.
Local, national, and judicial authorities are clearly taking the side of big mining interests over the welfare of Kasibu residents. The local community has repeatedly asserted that no genuine consultation was done about the mining exploration.
The situation in Kasibu reflects the intensified plunder under the Marcos presidency and the aggressive deployment of fascist troops to attack communities that are fiercely resisting displacement and the destruction of the environment. Local opposition to extractive operations will become stronger across the country after Marcos issued EO 122 in August, which lays down a Unified National Policy Framework for Developing the Critical Minerals Industry. This policy, coupled with the critical minerals deal signed with the US early this year, will facilitate greater exploitation of our local resources for the benefit of imperialist plunderers.
Kasibu is the ground zero of mining violence on one hand and the people’s resistance against unbridled foreign plunder, corruption, and fascist violence on the other. Bayan calls for solidarity actions in support of the people of Kasibu and all communities, which are defending their homes and the country’s patrimony.
DEFEND THE BARRICADE!
STOP POLICE VIOLENCE AND REPRESSION!
STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF KASIBU!
DEFEND LAND, LIVELIHOODS, AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS!