A lawyer representing residents opposing a mining exploration project in Nueva Vizcaya is facing a cyberlibel complaint after questioning a mining company’s compliance with community consultation requirements before securing its exploration permit.
The Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Isabela has issued a subpoena directing lawyer Fidel G. Santos to submit a counter-affidavit within 10 days after North Luzon Mineral Resources Corp. (NLMRC) filed the complaint under the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
The complaint stems from a video of Santos speaking during a June 13 community gathering in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, where he questioned the company’s consultation process and alleged that attendance sheets from an unrelated mushroom-growing seminar had been used to support its application for an exploration permit.
In its complaint-affidavit, NLMRC alleged that Santos falsely accused the company of deceiving government regulators and securing its exploration permit through fraudulent consultation documents, damaging the firm’s reputation and business standing.
The company also argued that Santos misrepresented the legal framework by conflating consultations required before the issuance of an exploration permit with those required during the implementation of exploration activities.
Santos described the complaint as a strategic lawsuit against public participation, or SLAPP. Such lawsuits are widely understood as legal actions filed by powerful individuals, corporations or government entities primarily to silence critics rather than prevail on the merits of a case.
They can subject activists, journalists, whistleblowers and other advocates to costly and protracted legal proceedings that discourage public participation and advocacy.
“This is nothing but a SLAPP suit meant to prevent me from choosing the difficult path of defending the poor and the environment,” Santos said.
Another SLAPP
The cyberlibel complaint is the latest legal action arising from the dispute over NLMRC’s exploration project in Kasibu.
Weeks earlier, the Kasibu Municipal Trial Court dismissed a forcible entry complaint against Bishop Elmer Mangalinao of Bayombong, Fr. Christian Dumangeng, and several community leaders involved in anti-mining barricades opposing the project.
In its June 24 ruling, the court found that the complaint had been improperly filed as a forcible entry case and said the relief sought was more consistent with an action for injunction.
It also ruled that the plaintiff failed to establish a clear legal right that would justify the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction.
The dispute centers on NLMRC’s exploration permit covering 4,456 hectares in the villages of Pao, Kakiduguen, Paquet, Dine, Catarawan, Biyoy, Muta, and Siguem in Kasibu. Residents, church groups, environmental advocates, and some Indigenous leaders have opposed the project, raising concerns about its potential impact on watersheds, ancestral lands, and local livelihoods.
Residents established barricades in Paquet and Kakidugen in May to block the movement of fuel, equipment, and mineral samples associated with the company’s exploration activities.
The prosecutor’s office has directed Santos to submit his counter-affidavit before determining whether probable cause exists to pursue the cyberlibel complaint, the latest legal dispute stemming from the contested mining exploration project in Kasibu.
