A Nueva Vizcaya court has ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to arrest protesters defying a temporary restraining order (TRO) against demonstrations in Dupax del Norte, after upholding the legality of a mining company’s exploration permit.
Based on the order issued on Oct. 16, 2025, Judge Paul Attolba Jr. of the Bayombong Regional Trial Court Branch 30 directed the PNP to fully implement a standing TRO against protesters and ‘to arrest any persons who willfully disobey, obstruct, or resist the implementation of the said Order, and to file appropriate charges against them for indirect contempt of court and other offenses under existing laws.’
Attolba issued the order due to non-implementation of previous TRO orders ‘brought about by the hostile acts and resistance of the persons maintaining a barricade at the road going to the exploration site.’
The judge through the order explained that when such lawful orders are resisted ‘those responsible may be held in contempt of court’ based on Rule 71, Section 3(b) of the Rules of Court, which provides that a person guilty of ‘disobedience of or resistance to a lawful writ, process, order, or judgment of a court may be punished for indirect contempt.’
‘The TRO issued by this Court is a lawful and binding judicial order that must be respected by all persons, whether parties to the case or not,’ the order read.
‘Willful defiance thereof not only constitutes contempt of court but also an act obstructing the administration of justice, for which those responsible may be arrested and prosecuted,’ it added.
Attolba first issued an initial 72-hour TRO on October 10, 2025, which was later extended to 20 days, or until October 30, 2025.
The TRO was issued in favor of mining company Woggle Corporation, whose Exploration Permit covers 3,101.11 hectares across five barangays in Dupax del Norte.
Woggle Corporation earlier sought the court’s intervention after local residents and environmental groups continued to stage protests against its exploration activities, claiming potential environmental and social impacts on ancestral lands.