In Nueva Vizcaya, Indigenous residents and farmers continue to block access to a 3,000‑hectare mining exploration site, citing threats to their farmland, water sources, and livelihoods. 

The project's permit — granted to a subsidiary of London‑listed Metals Exploration — has been suspended, and the Philippine Senate is now probing the approval process. 

Environmental groups are using the conflict to renew calls to repeal the 1995 Mining Act and push for a "People's Mining Bill." As global gold demand rises, pressure to expand exploration is intensifying — but the barricade still stands.