Despite a newly secured Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), resident-led barricades in barangays Bulalacao and Guinaoang, Mankayan, stand firm to block the entry of Crescent Mining and Development Corporation (CMDC).
CMDC remains the project proponent for the Bulalacao–Guinaoang copper-gold exploration project in Mankayan, Benguet. In a statement, the company said: “We recognize that some residents of Barangays Bulalacao and Guinaoang have genuine concerns about this project’s impact on their farmlands, water, and way of life. We take these concerns seriously, and we do not take this disagreement lightly. We remain committed to a peaceful resolution that respects both the rule of law and the rights of the indigenous communities of Mankayan.”
The Mankayan-based mining project was granted a 72-hour TRO issued on Thursday, July 9, by the Regional Trial Court Branch 64 of Abatan, Buguias, Benguet, directing residents to refrain from preventing CMDC’s entry and access to the site for exploration, pending a formal hearing on July 13, 2026.
According to the court order, residents including Satur Lostbayan S. Anton, Marlo Pablo, Gary Dulag Sr., Aldrin Dominguez, Glenn Inciong, Wilbur Labi, Noel Labi, Irma Pangsil, and Efren Camsol have “prevented and continue picketing, blocking the road, or indulging in other acts that prevent the plaintiff’s drilling equipment from going to the proposed drill sites.”
CMDC further explained that its drilling activities are covered by an exploration program duly approved by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB). The company noted that the ancestral domain of Mankayan, through its recognized representatives, signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Crescent, which was subsequently confirmed by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples through a Certification Precondition.
“The TRO addresses only the physical blocking of lawful, permitted operations,” the company added. “It does not restrict anyone’s right to speak, assemble, petition, or oppose this project. CMDC filed this action to resolve a specific dispute through the courts, not to silence community voices.”
CMDC is a Philippine-registered mining company focused on mineral exploration and development. As of 2025, Blackstone Minerals effectively owns and controls CMDC following its acquisition of IDM/Asean Copper, aligning with Blackstone’s ongoing strategy to expand its global portfolio in copper and battery-related mineral development.
However, local residents fear the exploration plan puts the Suyoc and Lo-o Rivers, along with their tributaries, in danger of contamination and siltation, citing drilling activities threaten critical groundwater sources in Bulalacao, where communities already face water scarcity.
The Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) has since issued an alert on the ongoing standoff, standing by the residents at the barricades.
“These legal actions come amid the continuing and peaceful resistance of the people of Mankayan against CMDC’s mining project and raise serious concerns over the use of legal remedies that could affect the communities’ collective assertion of their ancestral land rights,” the CPA said.
The CPA called on people’s organizations, church institutions, Indigenous Peoples, human rights advocates, lawyers, media, and solidarity partners to stand with the people of Mankayan in defending their ancestral lands and right to self-determination. Maria Elena Catajan
