By Rachel Magday
BAYOMBONG,Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines — The Regional Trial Court of Bayombong, Branch 30, has extended a temporary restraining order that bars residents and their agents from blocking access to Woggle Corporation’s mining exploration site in Dupax del Norte,Nueva Vizcaya.
In an order dated Oct. 14, 2025, Presiding Judge Paul R. Attolba Jr. extended a 72-hour TRO issued on Oct. 10 for an additional 20 days, keeping the restraint in force until Oct. 30, 2025 unless earlier lifted or modified. The case was filed by Woggle against Florentino Daynos, Jun Roduta and others.
During the preliminary hearing last Monday, the defendants’ lawyers said the barricade was inside a private lot and argued Woggle’s exploration permit is invalid because the company did not hold consultations in the barangays covered by the permit. They also said that conducting consultations in the affected barangays is a mandatory requirement. Several local residents and anti‑mining advocates attended the hearing to show support for those opposing the exploration.
Woggle, holder of Exploration Permit No. 00030‑II from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Mines and Geosciences Bureau, said its permit covers about 3,101.11 hectares across several barangays in Dupax del Norte. The company told the court its personnel were blocked from reaching the exploration area in Sitio Keon by a barricade set up near Keon Barangay Road in Barangay Bitnong and the Aritao‑Quirino national highway.
Citing the government-issued permit, the court said Woggle “prima facie establishes their right to conduct exploration activities,” and found that loss of access would cause “irreparable injury” because exploration work is time-sensitive and interruptions cannot be adequately compensated by damages. The order added that the defendants’ arguments raise factual or mixed legal questions that require fuller evidentiary hearings.
Judge Attolba wrote that the “balance of interest” favors Woggle and described the barricading as an apparent overreach of the defendants’ rights. The order restrains the defendants, their agents and anyone acting with them from (a) installing or maintaining a barricade along Keon Barangay Road, Barangay Bitnong, and the Aritao‑Quirino national highway, and (b) preventing vehicles, employees, contractors, representatives and agents of Woggle from entering Keon to access the exploration area.
The court directed its sheriff to implement the order.
