SECURITY GUARDS OF MINING FIRM ATTACK POCKET MINERS

ON THE ARMED SECURITY GUARDS OF SANGILO MINES VS. ITOGON POCKET MINERS

The Itogon Interbarangay Alliance (IIB-A), a municipal chapter of CPA in Itogon, Benguet, expresses its grave concern over a violent incident involving armed security guards of Sangilo Mines and small-scale miners in Brgy. Población, Itogon. On October 1, 2025, coinciding with the opening of National Indigenous Peoples Month, the security guards reportedly ransacked the pocket mines of local miners. According to eyewitnesses, some miners were beaten and seriously injured. The incident was caught on video by Mr. Ramon Palingpingan Fianza.

Sangilo Mines is operated by Itogon-Suyoc Resources, Inc. (ISRI), a company that has been in operation since the 1930s and is now affiliated with the Ricky Razon-owned Apex Mining Co.

It is not uncommon for private guards of large mining corporations to violently confront small-scale miners whose pocket mines are accused of being within corporate mining claims. Likewise, it is not uncommon for these companies to assert ownership over ancestral lands through co-opted landowners, legal manipulation, or sheer force.

We call for an immediate investigation of this incident and for accountability for the injuries inflicted on the miners. Whatever the circumstances, ISRI must not allow its armed security personnel to inflict harm on residents whose livelihoods depend on pocket mining. If it is proven that ISRI itself ordered the attack, this would only serve as a grim reminder of the lengths mining corporations will go to in protecting their interests.

At present, ISRI faces strong opposition from Indigenous Peoples affected by its expansion projects in Itogon. Nearly a century of mining has already taken its toll, yet the company continues to pursue projects that further erode both the fragile mountains and the struggling communities of Itogon. ###