MANILA — Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Philippine prosecutors to dismiss cyber-libel complaints filed against four rights advocates in Nueva Vizcaya, saying the cases appear intended to silence communities opposing mining activities.

In a statement, HRW said North Luzon Mineral Resources Corporation filed a cyber-libel complaint in July 2026 against lawyers Fidel Santos and Edgardo Balgos, who represent local residents questioning the company’s mining exploration activities in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya.

According to HRW, the complaint stemmed from statements made by the two lawyers on Facebook and during a radio interview, where they alleged that the company failed to properly consult affected residents, including farmers and members of the Indigenous Bugkalot/Ilangot community.

Two community leaders are also facing separate cyber-libel complaints.

“Philippine prosecutors should dismiss criminal complaints filed by companies to silence communities raising concerns about their business operations,” said Lian Buan, Southeast Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“Philippine legislators should revive bills that would make it easier for the authorities to block such criminal lawsuits from proceeding.”

HRW said the residents filed a petition with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on July 14 seeking the cancellation of the company’s mining exploration permit, alleging insufficient community consultation.

The petition also claimed that the residents hold a Certificate of Land Ownership Award confirming their rights as agrarian reform beneficiaries and that the area is covered by protected watershed regulations.

The company, however, said in its complaint that it had conducted consultations with two communities in March 2024 before securing an exploration permit on June 25, 2025, covering 4,455 hectares across several villages.

It also said it possesses a certification from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples stating that the permit area does not overlap with any recognized ancestral domain.

HRW described the complaints against the lawyers and community leaders as having the characteristics of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), which it said are intended to discourage public participation through legal action.

“They are filing cases one after the other,” Santos said. “They targeted the leaders first, and now their lawyers.”

Balgos said the complaint could discourage lawyers from representing affected communities.

“As their lawyer, I have a responsibility to advocate for their cause,” Balgos said. “But this [criminal libel case] creates a chilling effect, because if their defender is being harassed, then the more afraid they are.”

HRW said community leader Florentino Daynos is facing a separate cyber-libel complaint filed by the company over his support for a community barricade against mining exploration, while Daynos and another community leader, Anthony Glenn Guingayan Sr., were also notified of additional cyber-libel complaints filed by other Nueva Vizcaya residents.

The organization noted that the complaints filed by the company will undergo preliminary investigation in Isabela province, where the company is based, instead of Nueva Vizcaya, adding that filing libel cases away from respondents is a common practice in the Philippines.

HRW also said companies and government authorities have previously used cyber-libel charges against critics, citing concerns raised by United Nations special rapporteurs regarding the use of cybercrime laws to suppress freedom of expression.

The organization reiterated its opposition to criminal defamation laws, arguing that they have a chilling effect on free speech and undermine the right to freedom of expression under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

HRW also pointed to House Bill No. 5592, filed in October 2022, which seeks to expand anti-SLAPP protections to all public interest cases by requiring prosecutors and courts to determine at the outset whether a complaint is a SLAPP and dismiss it if warranted.

“Efforts to target Indigenous communities and their lawyers in the courts should prompt firm action by the Philippine government,” Buan said.

“If environmental and human rights advocacy is criminalized, affected communities will be unable to sound the alarm when corporations and officials threaten their rights.”