INTRODUCTION

At least 370 million people worldwide are considered to be indigenous. Most of them live in
remote areas of the world. Indigenous peoples are divided into at least 5000 peoples ranging
from the forest peoples of the Amazon to the tribal peoples of India and from the Inuit of the
Arctic to the Aborigines in Australia.
Indigenous peoples do not necessarily claim to be the only people native to their countries, but
in many cases indigenous peoples are indeed aboriginal or native to the lands they live in,
being descendants of those peoples that inhabited a territory prior to colonization or formation
of the present state.
Indigenous peoples have their own distinct languages, cultures, and social and political
institutions that are very different from those of mainstream society. While indigenous peoples
face the same experience of discrimination and marginalization as other ethnic minorities,
there are very important differences in terms of their rights and identity.
The islands of the Philippines are inhabited by a number of ethnic groups. Ethnic groups in the
Philippines identify themselves based on one or several factors like ancestry, language, religion
or a shared history. About 60 ethnic minority groups in the Philippines exist and still practice
their traditional customs. Each group differs from each other according to how their ethnic
roots were preserved. They are located in most areas of central and northern Luzon, Mindoro,
Palawan, western Mindanao and Sulu Islands. Not being subdued to any colonial rule, they
were able to preserve their ethnic practices freely. Most characteristic of these 'indigenous
groups' is that they live in a traditional way, comparable with how the ancestors lived centuries
ago. Marriage solemnization is different from what we commonly practice. Marriages in these
communities are often solemnized by their tribal leader or chieftain.
ANCIENT FILIPINO WEDDING
A typical ancient traditional Filipino wedding, during pre-colonial times, is held for three days
and was officiated by a babaylan, a tribal priest or priestess. The house of the babaylan was the
ceremonial center for the nuptial. On the first day, the couple was brought to the priest's home,
where the babaylan blesses them, while their hands are joined over a container of uncooked
rice. On the third day, the priest would prick their chests to draw a small amount of blood,
which will be placed on a container to be mixed with water. After announcing their love for
each other for three times, they were fed by the priest with cooked rice coming from a single
container. Afterwards, they were to drink the water that was mixed with their blood. The priest
proclaimed that they are officially wed after their necks and hands were bound by a cord or,
sometimes, once their long hairs had been entwined together. In lieu of the babaylan,
the datu or a wise elder may also officiate a pre-colonial Filipino wedding.
After the ceremony, while at the just-married couple's residence, a series of gift-exchanging
rituals was also done to counter the negative responses of the bride: if asked to enter her new
home, if she refuses to go up the stairs of the dwelling, if she denies to participate in the
marriage banquet, or even to go into her new bedroom, a room she would be sharing with her
spouse.
Spanish colonialism brought changes to these marriage rituals because of the teachings and
conversion efforts of Spanish missionaries, which occurred as early as the 18th century. As a
result, the majority of current-day Filipino weddings became predominantly Christian or
Catholic in character, which is also because of the mostly Catholic population, although
indigenous traditions still exist today in other regions of the Philippines.
INDIGENOUS WEDDING CEREMONIES
Philippines is composed of many indigenous communities, each having their own unique and
distinct way of uniting a man and a woman in matrimony. When there is a wedding ceremony
about to be celebrated within the tribe, the atmosphere becomes colorful and festive. The
bride would wear bright colored traditional wedding dress and adorns herself with many
ornaments each representing a symbol. The groom wears the tribes traditional outfit for a
groom. The ceremony would often be celebrated by the tribal leader. Killing of wild pigs, goats
and other animals are often involved in these kinds of weddings.
MARRIAGE ACCORDING TO THE FAMILY CODE
Marriage is the formal recognition of union between a man and a woman. Legally speaking,
marriage is a sanctioned contract between a man and a woman. The concept of marriage has
existed in nearly all human cultures throughout history, though its participants, basis, and goals
have varied a great deal. Still, in almost all modern societies it is seen as a persons most
important relationship and the foundation of family.
Public policy is strongly in favor of marriage based on the belief that itpreserves the family unit.
Therefore, it is not surprising that weddings, the celebration of marriage, are treated as
important, milestone events in countries around the world. In the Philippine Constitution,
marriage is characterized as:
Marriage, as an inviolable social institution is the foundation of the family and shall be
protected by the State (Sec.1 Art.XV).
Under Art.1 of the Family Code, the purpose of marriage is the establishment of conjugal and
family life. But before a couple avails the benefits of being married, there are of course
requisites that they need to accomplish. The family code has laid down these specific requisites
under articles 2 and 3. The essential requisites are legal capacity to contract marriage and
consent. Under Art. 3 are the formal requisites of marriage and they are authority of the
solemnizing officers, a valid marriage license and a marriage ceremony.
The law explicitly provides that these requisites should be fulfilled before one can contract
marriage that is considered as valid. Ethnic communities practice a different way of solemnizing
their marriage. Marriage is performed in a form of ritual that is unique to every ethnic
community found here in the Philippines. Being Filipinos themselves sojourning within the
jurisdiction of the Philippines, they too are covered by these laws. But are they really compelled
to conform to what the law has laid down as the mandatory standard in solemnizing their
marriage since they are covered by the Family Code too? Does the law recognize the validity of
a marriage between two people coming from an ethnic community solemnized by their tribal
leader or chieftain? Will it not be a burden for these members of ethnic cultural communities to
undergo the process of acquiring proper documents given that they are living in remote areas
and sometimes they lack the finances to be able to pay the whole process of availing such
documents? Is the tribal leader or chieftain really authorized to perform marriage? Is there a
need for him to register his authority to be able to solemnize marriage? These questions will be
answered within the next succeeding paragraphs of this paper.

SITUATION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN THE PHILIPPINES
Indigenous peoples in the Philippines generally live in geographically isolated areas with a lack
of access to basic social services and few opportunities for mainstream economic activities or
political participation. They are the people with the least education and the least meaningful
political representation. In contrast, commercially valuable natural resources such as minerals,
timber and water are concentrated in their areas, making them continuously vulnerable to
development aggression from both private and public extractive industries.
MOST INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE BIRTH CERTIFICATES
IPs seldom register their births. Birth certificate is an important supporting document when one
is applying for a marriage license in the Local Civil Registrar. An analysis of the situation
revealed several barriers as to why they cannot register:
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
Low registration levels were observed in rural areas that suffer harsh geographic conditions.
People in mountainous areas, rugged terrains, areas that are separated by bodies of water find
it difficult to register because they are situated in inaccessible areas.
ECONOMY
Registrants far from civil registration centers fail to register because it entails exorbitant
transportation rates (ex. habal-habal and skylab) In addition, certain municipalities collect
considerable fees. Furthermore, going down to poblacion/municipalities centers would mean
additional cost for meals and other travel needs which is actually not within the budget.
Likewise, some LGUs are charging exorbitant fees in registering civil registration events.
TRANSPORTATION
In some areas, frequencies of transportation services are infrequent and entail so much time
traveling. In other areas the presence of transportation could be nil or none at all. Aggravating
the situation of transportation problems is the poor maintenance of road network.
LANGUAGE
Poorly educated sector of our population including cultural minority groups inhibit themselves
from transacting business with the government offices because of the perceived lingual
difference especially that tribal people speaks only their native dialects.
LACK OF AWARENESS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCUMENTS
The value of the document is not generally known until one is confronted with such
requirement. The document is not listed among the immediate priorities.


CUSTOMS AND RELIGION
There are still cultural practices among IPs and Muslims that are not compatible with the
requirements of registration. One case is that other tribes still insist on using single name or
their names are changed after Haj.

MARRIAGE LICENSE AS THE MOST IMPORTANT REQUISITE FOR MARRIAGE
Before getting married, it is important that a valid marriage license be issued separately to
parties who want to get married. The Local Civil Registrar issues the application form that needs
to be filled up by the contracting parties. There must also be a personal appearance before the
civil registrar of the contracting parties who intend to get married. Among the supporting
documents asked from the parties who intend to contract marriage is a birth certificate. If you
do not present one, most likely you will be denied of an issuance of a marriage license. So what
happens to our IP brothers and sisters who do not have birth certificates? Can they not get
married? This is probably the reason why there is Art. 33 in the Family Code of the Philippines.
IPs are exempt from availing a marriage license because most of them have not registered their
births thus issuance of a birth certificate to them would be impossible. Marriages may be
performed validly without necessity of a marriage license provided that they are solemnized in
accordance with their customs, rites or practices. Art. 33 is pursuant to the Constitutional
provision on the recognition, respect and protection of rights of indigenous cultural minorities
in preservation of their cultures and traditions. But in the year 2012 Congress has pushed the
"Free and Culture-Sensitive Indigenous Peoples Civil Registration System Act of 2012." Under
this Act, reports by the IPs themselves or their parent/s or by the concerned tribal priest/elder
leader/doctor/midwife concerning birth, marriage, dissolution of marriage and death, which
were attended to or were conducted following their traditional cultural practices be acceptable
upon the Local Civil Registry Office without requiring any additional documents. The bill
amends the existing civil registry forms to ensure uniformity of all civil registry documents.
The following are the provisions concerning civil registration for the indigenous people:
SEC. 4. Culturally-sensitive Civil Registration System. - Within one (1) month of the effectivity of
this Act, the National Statistics Office (NSO), in collaboration with the National Commission on
Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the Philippine Association of Civil Registrars, the National
Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and distinguished anthropologists and selected
elders and leaders of the IPs, shall establish an Indigenous Peoples Civil Registration System
(IPCRS) that is sensitive and appropriate to the unique cultural practices and identification
systems of the IPs: Provided, That the IPCRS shall be harmonized with existing laws and systems
on civil registry.
This provision puts together four government agencies namely the National Statistics Office
(NSO), the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the Philippine Association of
Civil Registrars, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) with the help of
anthropologists and the tribal leaders/chieftains/elders of each ethnic cultural community in
the country to identify unique cultural practices and have them synced to the present laws and
systems of registration under the Local Civil Registrar.
SEC. 6. Free Civil Registration for Indigenous Peoples. Any provision of law to the contrary
notwithstanding, IPs shall be exempted from the payment of all fees in connection with the
recording of their birth, marriage and death at the Local Civil Registry Office and such
exemption shall extend to any fine or fee for late registration. They are likewise exempted from
the payment of notarial fees and documentary stamp tax in cases where the recording of the
birth, marriage or death requires the execution of affidavits or sworn statements and similar
documents.
This provision exempts the IPs from paying fess in connection of the registration at the Local
Civil Registrars Office. They too are also exempted from the payment of other fees such as
notarial fees and documentary stamp taxes.
SEC. 7. Report of Birth by the Parents or Tribal Doctor or Tribal Midwife Conclusive Upon the
Local Civil Registrar. .- In recording the birth of IPs delivered in the traditional customs and
practices of the indigenous community, the report as to the circumstances of the birth by any
of the parents or by the tribal doctor or tribal midwife who attended to the delivery shall be
conclusive upon the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) without need for further proof. The procedures
and requirements set forth in Section 5 of Act No. 3753, or the Civil Registry Law, shall apply
only in cases where the child was delivered in a hospital or birthing center and was attended to
by a physician or midwife.
IPs delivered in traditional practices shall be registered without any further proof asked from
them except reports of the parents, tribal doctor or tribal midwife of the birth.



MARRIAGE REGISTRATION UNDER THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES CIVIL REGISTRATION SYSTEM
(IPCRS)
Tribal marriages were never documented. With the advent of strict compliance for Birth
Certificates of schooling children and dependents, the issue of being illegitimates surfaced
which had direct bearing with other transactions such as health insurance and benefits. The
immediate remedy of some LCRs consisted of mass weddings, civil and religious mass weddings.
The IPs, however, were left confused and bewildered. The process clearly implied of invalid
tribal marriages and conversion to certain religious sect.

The "Free and Culture-Sensitive Indigenous Peoples Civil Registration System Act of 2012
registers marriage upon the report of it to the Local Civil Registrar without any further proof
provided that such marriage ceremony was performed in accordance with their customs rites
and practices. Its not only marriage that is registered, but as well as divorce done through rites
and practices of the certain ethnic cultural community. Section 8 of said act provides:
Report of Marriage Performed in Accordance with Customary Indigenous Laws and
Practices and Dissolution of Marriage. - The report of marriage among and between IPs
solemnized in accordance with customary laws, rites, traditions and practices by the person
duly authorized to perform the ritual or ceremony and by the parties to the marriage shall be
conclusive upon the LCR without need for further proof. For this purpose, the NCIP shall submit
to the NSO a list of IPs recognized by each indigenous community to solemnize marriage
according to its customary laws or practices. The NSO shall issue a Certificate of Registration of
Authority to Solemnize Marriage (CRASM) to such IPs for free. In the case of indigenous
communities whose traditional marriage ceremony does not require the presence of a
solemnizing officer, as determined by the NCIP, the report by the contracting parties shall be
conclusive upon the LCR without need for further proof except personal confirmation, orally or
in writing, by any of the parents or by a tribal leader or elder of the indigenous community to
which any of the spouses belongs. For this purpose, the NCIP shall furnish the NSO and the LCRs
with a list of indigenous communities falling under this paragraph: Provided that pending the
submission of such list, the oral or written confirmation of the tribal leader or elder shall be
conclusive upon the LCR. The dissolution of marriage of IPs following customary indigenous
laws and practices shall be directly recorded with the LCR without need of court intervention:
Provided, that such facts and information shall be confirmed orally or in writing by a tribal
leader or elder of the indigenous community to which any of the spouses belongs.
The section provides that tribal leaders/chieftains/elders who perform marriage solemnization
within their respective community should first register their authority before they can validly
perform a marriage ceremony in accordance to their tribes customs and traditions. This is
pursuant to the provisions of Art.3 of the Family Code which says that among the formal
marriage requisite is the authority of the solemnizing officer. Tribal leaders must have a
Certificate of Registration of Authority to Solemnize Marriage (CRASM).

CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION OF AUTHORITY TO SOLEMNIZE MARRIAGE
This is a certificate issued to a Solemnizing Officer certifying the registration of his authority to
solemnize marriage after complying with the requirements. This certificate indicates that the
SO is authorized to solemnize marriages under his territorial jurisdiction within the period
specified.
The CRASM shall be valid for a period of 3 years and shall expire on the 31
st
day of December of
every 3rd year and shall be renewable within the last quarter of the expiration year. The
effectivity date of the authority to solemnize marriage shall be indicated in the CRASM.
Legal Basis
On August 3, 1988, pursuant to Article 7 of the Family Code of the Philippines, the duty to
register the authority to solemnize marriages and issuance of Certificate of Registration of
Authority to Solemnize Marriage (CRASM) was transferred to the OCRG. Specifically, Article 7(2)
states that: Marriage may be solemnized by any priest, rabbi, imam, or minister of any church
or religious sect duly authorized by his church or religious sect and registered with the civil
registrar general, acting within the limits of the written authority granted him by his church or
religious sect and provided that at least one of the contracting parties belongs to the
solemnizing officers church or religious sect. As provided by the OCRG AO No. 3 s. of 2004,
otherwise known as Rules and Regulations Governing Registration of Acts and Events
Concerning the Civil Status of Indigenous Peoples, marriages between members of ethnic
cultural communities or indigenous peoples may be solemnized by:
A. Community elders;
B. Tribal leaders or authorities and traditional socio political structures certified by National
Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) or
C. Authorities duly acclaimed and respected in the tribal communities who perform and
solemnize marriage in accordance with the customs and practices of the community.
CERTIFICATION COMING FROM THE NCIP
For a tribal leader to be issued a CRASM he must first have a certification coming from the NCIP
that he is the authorized solemnizing officer of their tribe. The NCIP or the National Commission
of Indigenous People is the sole authority that recognizes and accredits ethnic cultural groups
present in the country. The agency also identifies the leaders of each ethnic community and
identifies the roles that they play within their jurisdiction. Pursuant to rule four of the IPRA Law
is the recognition of Authentic Leadership vested to tribal leaders who have their own form of
governance over their subordinates.
Section 1: Recognition of Authentic Leadership. In pursuance of the right to self-
governance and self-determination, the ICCs/IPs, in coordination with the Department of the
Interior and Local Government, through the NCIP, shall formulate measures to ensure that:
a) The socio-political structures, systems and institutions of ICCs/IPs are strengthened;
b) The indigenous structures, systems, and institutions are not supplanted by other forms of
non-indigenous governance; and/ or
c) Mechanisms that allow the interfacing of indigenous systems of governance with the national
systems are established.
Only ethnic cultural communities registered and accredited with the NCIP shall be given with
said certification needed in availing the CRASM. Tribal leaders are exempted from paying the
fees when applying for a CRASM. A certification is not the only requirement for tribal leaders to
avail this certificate. They also have forms needed to be filled up and they too are required to
pass birth certificates. Birth registration became available to indigenous people just recently.
Considering that most tribal leaders are old and birth registration was not yet available to them,
they may not be issued a certificate of authority to solemnize marriage because they lack the
requirement of birth certificate. Isnt this requirement of registration of authority not
applicable to tribal leaders? The answer is no. Under OCRG AO No. 3 s. of 2004, otherwise
known as Rules and Regulations Governing Registration of Acts and Events Concerning the Civil
Status of Indigenous Peoples, late registration is also available for indigenous people.

SELF DETERMINATION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
The right of self-determination of peoples is a fundamental principle in international law. It is
embodied in the Charter of the United Nations and the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Common Article 1, paragraph 1 of these Covenants provides that:
"All peoples have the rights of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine
their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development."
The right of self-determination has also been recognized in other international and regional
human rights instruments such as Part VII of the Helsinki Final Act 1975 and Article 20 of the
African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights as well as the Declaration on the Granting of
Independence to Colonial Territories and Peoples. It has been endorsed by the International
Court of Justice. Furthermore, the scope and content of the right of self- determination has
been elaborated upon by the United Nations Human Rights Committee and Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination as well as international jurists and human rights experts.
With this, indigenous people are entitled to practice their customs and traditions like wedding
ceremonies without necessarily complying with what mandated by law. Marriage ceremonies
done through tribal customs are deemed acceptable and valid.








CONCLUSION

In conclusion, marriage solemnized in accordance with tribal rituals and customs are recognized
by the law. IPs are entitled to some exemptions in the fulfillment of the essential and formal
requisites of contracting marriage. There is really no prescribed form of valid marriage
solemnization. The Family Code, by providing a provision on the validity of a marriage
performed through unique customs and practices shows respect and recognizes the rich
traditions of our country that needs to be preserved. Issues of lack of access to registration of
the indigenous people have also been addressed. Marriage in whatever form is protected by
the law because this is the foundation of the family which completes the country and makes it
whole.















REFERENCES

Civil Registration for IPs. Retrieved October 14, 2014 from https://ph.news.yahoo.com/bill-
encourages-indigenous-groups-participate-national-civil-registry-111433524.html
Definition of Ethnic Cultural Groups. Retrieved October 13, 2014 from
http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/research/centers/cberd/pdf/business/vol1/vol1no5.pdf
Definition of Marriage. Retrieved October 13, 2014 from http://www.mb.com.ph/speech-nso-
strengthens-civil-registration-marriage/
Free and Culture-Sensitive Indigenous Peoples Civil Registration System Act of 2012. Retrieved
October 14, 2014 from http://www.congress.gov.ph/press/details.php?pressid=6473
Registration of Events. Retrieved October 14, 2014 from
http://www.trunity.net/emipsea/view/blog/163440/
Salvador A. Aves, PhD (2004), Making Civil Registration System Work Better
Through the Inception of the Barangay Civil Registration System: A Strategic Maneuvering





University of San Agustin
College of Law
General Luna St. Iloilo City




LAW AND TRADITION: IP EXEMPTION TO SOME REQUISITES OF MARRIAGE, VALIDITY OF TRIBAL
MARRIAGE SOLEMNIZATION AND THE SYSTEM OF REGISTRATION
OF SUCH EVENTS UNDER THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR



A Term Paper Presented to
Atty. Anfred Panes
In Fulfillment of the Requirements for
Persons and Family Relations



Czarina Mae Valencia

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