LTD
The IPRA
Sec 14
(C) REGISTRATION UNDER THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS ACT
01. The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act.
The law allows indigenous peoples to obtain recognition of their
right of ownership over ancestral lands and ancestral domains by
virtue of native title
Constitutionality of the IPRA
[E]very presumption is and ought to be against the government in
a case like the present. It might, perhaps, be proper and sufficient to
say that when, as far back as testimony or memory goes, the land
has been held by individuals under a claim of private ownership, it
will be presumed to have been held in the same way from before
the Spanish conquest, and never to have been public land. Certainly
in a case like this, if there is doubt or ambiguity in the Spanish law,
we ought to give the applicant the benefit of the doubt.
Thus, ancestral lands and ancestral domains are not part of the
lands of the public domain. They are private and belong to the
ICCs/IPs. Section 3 of Article XII on National Economy and Patrimony
of the 1987 Constitution classifies lands of the public domain into
four categories: (a) agricultural, (b) forest or timber, (c) mineral
lands, and (d) national parks. Section 5 of the same Article XII
mentions ancestral lands and ancestral domains but it does not
classify them under any of the said four categories. To classify them
as public lands under any one of the four classes will render the
entire IPRA law a nullity. The spirit of the IPRA lies in the distinct
concept of ancestral domains and ancestral lands.
addresses the major problem of the ICCs/IPs which is loss of land.
Land and space are of vital concern in terms of sheer survival of the
ICCs/IPs.
02. Definition of terms. (1) Indigenous Cultural
Communities/Indigenous Peoples It refers to a group of people or
homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by
others, who have continuously lived as organized community on
communally bounded and defined territory, and who have, under
claims of ownership since time immemorial, occupied, possessed
and utilized such territories, sharing common bonds of language,
customs, traditions and other distinctive cultural traits,
ICCs/IPs shall likewise include peoples who are regarded as
indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which
inhabited the country, at the time of conquest or colonization, or at
the time of inroads of non-indigenous religions and cultures, or the
establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all
of their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions, but
who may have been displaced from their traditional domains or
who may have resettled outside their ancestral domains.4
(2) Ancestral domains It refers to all areas generally belonging to
ICCs/IPs comprising lands, inland waters, coastal areas, and natural
resources therein, held under a claim of ownership, occupied or
possessed by ICCs/IPs, by themselves or through their ancestors,
communally or individually since time immemorial, continuously to
the present except when interrupted by war, force majeure or
displacement by force, deceit, stealth or as a consequence of
government projects or any other voluntary dealings entered into
by government and private individuals/corporations
(3) Ancestral lands It refers to land occupied, possessed and utilized
by individuals, families and clans who are members of the ICCs/IPs
since time immemorial, by themselves or through their
predecessors-in-interest, under claims of individual or traditional
group ownership, continuously, to the present except when
interrupted by war, force majeure or displacement by force, deceit,
stealth, or as a consequence of government projects and other
voluntary dealings entered into by government and private
individuals/corporations, including, but not limited to, residential
lots, rice terraces or paddies, private forests, swidden farms and
tree lots.6
(4) Native title It refers to pre-conquest rights to lands and domains
which, as far back as memory reaches, have been held under a claim
of private ownership by ICCs/IPs, have never been public lands and
are thus indisputably presumed to have been held that way since
before the Spanish Conquest.7
(5) Time immemorial It refers to a period of time when as far back
as memory can go, certain ICCs/IPs are known to have occupied,
possessed in the concept of owner, and utilized a defined territory
devolved to them, by operation of customary law or inherited from
their ancestors, in accordance with their customs and traditions.
03. Ancestral domains and ancestral lands are private in character.
The ownership given is the indigenous concept of ownership under
customary law which traces its origin to native title.
04. Modes of acquisition.
(a) by native title over both ancestral lands and domains; or (b) by
Torrens title under the Public Land Act and the Land Registration
Act
Resolution of conflicts.
the NCIP shall hear and decide, after notice to the proper parties,
the disputes arising from the delineation of such ancestral domains.
07. National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.
The NCIP is the primary government agency which is responsible for
the formulation and implementation of policies, plans and programs
to recognize, protect and promote the rights of ICCs/IPs.26
Sec 15
01. Form and contents of the application for registration.
Section 15 requires that the application for land registration
shall be in writing, signed by the applicant or the person
duly authorized in his behalf, and sworn to before any
officer authorized to administer oaths for the province or
city where the application was actually signed.
Sec 16
Court having territorial jurisdiction over the land should take
cognizance of the case.
A proceeding in rem, such as land registration proceedings, requires
constructive seizure of the land as against all persons, including the
state, who have rights to or interests in the property.

-Application must be accompanied by a survey plan and applicants

muniments of title. Consequently, the primary purpose of the
aforesaid requirement is to fix the exact or definite identity of the
land as shown in the plan and technical descriptions.

Sec 18-19

A single application may be filed for two or more parcels of land

belonging to the same applicant provided that they are situated in
the same province or city.9a The court may at any time order the
splitting or striking out of one or more parcels, or allow
amendments to the application, including joinder, substitution or
discontinuance as to parties upon such terms as may be just and
reasonable.

02. Amendment of boundaries or area.

Where the amendment consists in a substantial change in
the boundaries or increase in area of the land or involve the
inclusion of additional area, the amendment shall be subject
to the same requirements of publication and notice as in
the case of an original application.