GE 002 – READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

Notes on Chapter 3 (IPs of the Philippines)

Prepared by: Ms. R. E. Falguera, LPT

Instructor

Who are the Indigenous Peoples?

“Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which, having a historical continuity
with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider
themselves distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing on those territories, or parts
of them. They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve,
develop and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as
the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns,
social institutions and legal system.”

- Jose R. Martinez Cobo, the Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of

Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, in his famous Study on the Problem of
Discrimination against Indigenous Populations (United Nations)

General Conference of the International Labour Organisation (No. 169)

(Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989)

Subjective Criteria Subjective Criteria

Indigenous Peoples
Self-identification as
belonging to an indigenous
people
Descent from populations,
who inhabited the country or
geographical region at the
time of conquest,
colonization or establishment
of present state boundaries

They retain some or all of

Tribal Peoples Self-identification as
belonging to a tribal people
their own social, economic,
cultural and political
institutions, irrespective of
their legal status.
Their social, cultural, and
economic conditions
distinguish them from other
sections of the national
community.
 Their status is regulated
wholly or partially by their
own customs or traditions or
by special laws or
regulations.
Source: Pimentel, M. (2021). The Indigenous peoples rights act commentaries and guide In
practice. REX Book store
For practical purposes the terms “indigenous” and “tribal” are used as synonyms in the UN
system when the peoples concerned identify themselves under the indigenous agenda.

Evolution of Laws Giving Recognition to the Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples

1997- Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act/ Republic Act Number 8371

1993 - Department of Environment and Natural Resources Department Administrative Order

No. 2 (DENR-DAO No. 2 Rules and Regulations for the Identification, Delineation, and
Recognition of Ancestral Lands and Domains)

1987- Constitution (Recognition and promotion of the rights of indigenous cultural communities
within the framework of national unity and development)

1975- Presidential Decree No. 705 (Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines) Section 3 (mm)

1974- Presidential Decree No. 410 (Ancestral Land Decree)

1964- Republic Act No. 3872 (Amendment to Public Land Act) Sections 44 and 48 (c)

1936- Commonwealth Act No. 141 (Public Land Act) Sections 44 and 48 (c)

“The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997” (IPRA 1997)

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8371

AN ACT TO RECOGNIZE, PROTECT AND PROMOTE THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS CULTURAL
COMMUNITIES/INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, CREATING A NATIONAL COMMISSION ON
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, ESTABLISHING IMPLEMENTING MECHANISMS, APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

General Provisions…

SECTION 2. Declaration of State Policies. — The State shall recognize and promote all the
rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs)
hereunder enumerated within the framework of the Constitution:
 a) The State shall recognize and promote the rights of ICCs/IPs within the framework of
national unity and development;
b) The State shall protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to their ancestral domains to ensure their
economic, social and cultural well being and shall recognize the applicability of
customary laws governing property rights or relations in determining the ownership
and extent of ancestral domain;
c) The State shall recognize, respect and protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to preserve and
develop their cultures, traditions and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the
formulation of national laws and policies;
d) The State shall guarantee that members of the ICCs/IPs regardless of sex, shall equally
enjoy the full measure of human rights and freedoms without distinction or
discrimination;
e) The State shall take measures, with the participation of the ICCs/IPs concerned, to
protect their rights and guarantee respect for their cultural integrity, and to ensure that
members of the ICCs/IPs benefit on an equal footing from the rights and opportunities
which national laws and regulations grant to other members of the population; and
f) The State recognizes its obligations to respond to the strong expression of the ICCs/IPs
for cultural integrity by assuring maximum ICC/IP participation in the direction of
education, health, as well as other services of ICCs/IPs, in order to render such services
more responsive to the needs and desires of these communities.

Towards these ends, the State shall institute and establish the necessary mechanisms to
enforce and guarantee the realization of these rights, taking into consideration their customs,
traditions, values, beliefs, interests and institutions, and to adopt and implement measures to
protect their rights to their ancestral domains.

- Rights to Ancestral Domains

- Right to Self-Governance and Empowerment
- Social Justice and Human Rights

Rationale of IPRA

Principle of Parens Patriae:

“The bill may also be justified under the principle of parens patriae which is deeply embedded
in Philippine legal tradition. Under this principle, persons suffering from serious disadvantage
or handicap, which places them in a position of actual inequality in their relations or transaction
with other are entitled to the protection of the State.”

The IPRA laid the path towards finally acknowledging the private nature of ancestral domains
and the rights of indigenous peoples to self-governance and cultural integrity.
Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples —

“refer 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, or who have,
through resistance to political, social and cultural inroads of
colonization, non-indigenous religions and cultures, became
historically differentiated from the majority of Filipinos.

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”

Definition of Terms

Ancestral Domains — refer 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, and
which are necessary to ensure their economic, social and cultural
welfare. It shall include ancestral lands, forests, pasture, residential,
agricultural, and other lands individually owned whether alienable and
disposable or otherwise, hunting grounds, burial grounds, worship
areas, bodies of water, mineral and other natural resources, and lands
which may no longer be exclusively occupied by ICCs/IPs but from which
they traditionally had access to for their subsistence and traditional
activities, particularly the home ranges of ICCs/IPs who are still nomadic
and/or shifting cultivators;

Ancestral Lands — refer 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;

Customary Laws — refer to a body of written and/or unwritten rules, usages, customs and
practices traditionally and continually recognized, accepted and observed
by respective ICCs/IPs;

National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) — refers to the office created under this
Act, which shall be under the Office of the President, and which shall be
the primary government agency responsible for the formulation and
implementation of policies, plans and programs to recognize, protect and
promote the rights of ICCs/IPs;

People’s Organization — refers to a private, nonprofit voluntary organization of members of

an ICC/IP which is accepted as representative of such ICCs/IPs;

Discussion

With most of them residing in the mountains and in areas inaccessible to the colonial
powers, the indigenous tribes of our country were able to retain their customs and traditions.
Needless to say, they are a living proof of our rich pre-colonial culture.

The Igorot and the Lumad form the two main ethnic groups in the country. The Igorots
are clustered in the northern part of the country while the Lumads are those from the southern
part. Numerous tribes form these two main ethnic groups.

The Ifugao, the Ilongot, Isneg (Isnag), Gaddang as well as the groups known as the Bontoc,
Ibaloi, Kalinga, Kankanaey and Tinguian are varieties of the Igorot.

On the other hand, several ethnic groups also comprise the Lumad – namely the B’laan,
Bukidnon, Higaonon, Mamanwa, Mandaya, Manobo, Mansaka, Sangir, Subanen, Tagabawa,
Tagakaulo, Tasaday, and T’boli.

In addition, the Badjaos, Ati and Tumandok tribes, Palawan Tribes, Mangyan, the Aetas
or Negritos, among others, have also kept intact their own culture.

In 1997, Republic Act No. 8371 otherwise known as “The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act”
was ratified in order “to recognize, protect, and promote the rights of indigenous cultural
communities/indigenous peoples.” Simply put, R.A. 8371 was enacted because the indigenous
groups in the country are continuously facing struggles that necessitate government and public
support.

References:

Pimentel, M. P. (2021). The Indigenous Peoples' rights act commentaries and guide in practice.

REX Book Store.

GE 002 CAS MODULES

Websites:
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1997/10/29/republic-act-no-8371/
https://ncip.gov.ph/
https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/publications/martinez-cobo-
study.html
https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:55:0::NO::P55_TYPE,P55_LANG,P55_
DOCUMENT,P55_NODE:REV,en,C169,/Document
https://www.un.org › workshop_data_background