DUPAX DEL NORTE, Nueva Vizcaya — Anti-mining leaders Florentino Daynos II and Novy Tagure posted bail on Wednesday morning for grave coercion charges linked to an incident involving Woggle Corporation in Barangay Bitnong.
The two posted bail amounting to P36,510 each at the Municipal Trial Court of Dupax del Norte.
Members of the Dupax del Norte Environmental Defenders claimed that checkpoints of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from the evening of May 19 until the morning of May 20 were set up to attempt to arrest them before they could reach the court.
The charges were filed by Neri Monsanto, identified by residents as a worker of Woggle Corporation and one of the individuals previously involved in confrontations with anti-mining barricaders in the area.
Daynos and Tagure said they only learned about the charges on May 19 and claimed they had not received any court summons prior to that date.
The complaint stemmed from an incident in November 2025 at Sitio Tacbao in Barangay Bitnong, where residents opposing mining exploration had established a barricade.
Residents recalled that personnel of Woggle Corporation entered the area supposedly to conduct road clearing operations following landslides caused by Typhoon Uwan. But barricaders stopped the group from proceeding and prevented company vehicles from leaving the site.
Water sampling materials were later found in the possession of company personnel, raising suspicion among community members that the activity was connected to mining exploration work rather than road clearing operations.
The case comes amid continuing opposition by residents and the anti-mining group, Dupax del Norte Environmental Defenders, against mining exploration activities in Barangay Bitnong.
Supporters of Daynos and Tagure condemned the filing of the charges, calling them baseless and a form of harassment against anti-mining advocates and residents defending their land, livelihood, and environment.
As of writing, neither Woggle Corporation nor the PNP have released a statement regarding the allegations.
Residents said the charges would not stop their opposition to mining activities in the area and vowed to continue defending their community and environment.
