RTC orders clearing of road to Dupax del Norte mine site

A REGIONAL trial court (RTC) in Nueva Vizcaya has ordered the full enforcement of a writ of preliminary injunction sought by mining firm Woggle Corp., directing the removal of all obstructions along a barangay road leading to its exploration site in Dupax del Norte.

In an order dated Jan. 19, Presiding Judge Paul R. Attolba, Jr. of the Regional Trial Court Branch 30 in Bambang cited reports that alleged protesters, after allowing the removal of a physical gate, formed a human barricade to block the passage of the company’s employees and contractors.

“The formation of a human barricade after the removal of the physical obstruction is a clear circumvention of the writ and a patent act of disobedience,” the court said.

The order authorizes court sheriffs, with assistance from the Philippine National Police, to immediately and fully enforce the injunction and arrest, without further court approval, any person who obstructs or defies its implementation.

“When a party openly defies a writ duly issued, the Court is not only empowered but duty-bound to employ all lawful means to secure obedience thereto,” the order read.

“Arrest becomes necessary, not as a punitive measure, but as a coercive process to compel compliance, preserve public order, prevent further obstruction, and uphold dignity and authority of the judiciary,” it added.

The court also directed law enforcement authorities to initiate appropriate criminal and contempt proceedings against those who resist the writ and ordered the submission of the identities of all alleged protesters involved within five days of enforcement. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking