REPUBLIC ACT

NO. 8371
THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS ACT OF
1997
CONSTITUTIONAL ANCHORS

“The State recognizes and promotes the rights of

indigenous cultural communities within the
framework of national unity and development”
▰ (1987 Constitution, Declaration of State Policies and Principles, Article II, Sec. 22)
“The State, subject to the provisions of this Constitution
and national development policies and programs, shall
protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to
their ancestral lands to ensure their economic, social, and
cultural well being.

The Congress may provide for the applicability of

customary laws governing property rights or relations in
determining the ownership and extent of ancestral domain.
▰ (1987, Constitution, National Economy and Patrimony, Article XII, Section 5)
“ The State shall recognize, respect and protect
the rights of indigenous cultural communities to
preserve and develop their cultures, traditions,
and institutions. It shall consider these rights in
the formulation of national plans and policies.”

▰ (1987 Constitution, Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture and Sports, Article XIV,
Section 17) formulation of national plans and policies.”
REPUBLIC ACT 8371 INDIGENOUS
PEOPLES RIGHTS ACT (IPRA)
The IPRA was signed into law on October 29, 1997 -President Fidel
Ramos.

The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) is the agency

of the national government of the Philippines that is responsible for
protecting the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines.

(Secs. 38-39)
INDIGENOUS CULTURAL COMMUNITIES /
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (ICCS/IPS) - SEC 3
• Homogenous societies
• Continuously lived as organized community bounded and
defined territory
• Occupied, possessed and utilized such territories since time
immemorial under claims of ownership
• Sharing common bonds of language, customs, traditions,
and other distinct cultural traits or who have become
historically differentiated from the majority of the Filipinos
• There are at least
110 ethno-linguistic
groups comprising
the ICCs/IPs with a
population of about
14 million based on
extrapolation of
Philippine
population growth.
FAMOUS TRIBES IGOROT
The term Igorot is an old Tagalog word
meaning “people from the mountains”
and is a general term used to include
all of the mountain tribes from the
Cordilleras. The Spanish adopted this
term, but it was generally used in a
negative manner referring to savages
and backward people of the mountains.
 AETA
The Aeta (Ayta /ˈaɪtə/ EYE-tə;
Kapampangan: áitâ), or Agta, are an
indigenous people who live in
scattered, isolated mountainous parts of
the island of Luzon, the Philippines.
These people are considered to be 
Negritos, whose skin ranges from dark
to very dark brown, and possessing
features such as a small stature and
frame; hair of a curly to kinky texture
and a higher frequency of naturally
lighter colour (blondism) relative to the
general population, small nose, and
dark brown eyes. They are thought to
be among the earliest inhabitants of the
Philippines, preceding the 
Austronesian migrations.
 SAMA-BAJAU
The Sama-Bajau refers to several Austronesian ethnic groups
of Maritime Southeast Asia with their origins from the
southern Philippines. The name collectively refers to related
people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah
(formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the
exonym Bajau (/ˈbɑːdʒaʊ, ˈbæ-/, also spelled Badjao, Bajaw,
Badjau, Badjaw, Bajo or Bayao). They usually live a seaborne
lifestyle, and use small wooden sailing vessels such as the
perahu (layag in Meranau), djenging (balutu), lepa, and vinta
(pilang). Some Sama-Bajau groups native to Sabah are also
known for their traditional horse culture. The Sama-Bajau are
the dominant ethnic group of the islands of Tawi-Tawi in the
Philippines. They are also found in other islands of the Sulu
Archipelago, coastal areas of Mindanao, northern and eastern
Borneo, Sulawesi, and throughout eastern Indonesian islands..
In the Philippines, they are grouped together with the
religiously-similar Moro people. Within the last fifty years,
many of the Filipino Sama-Bajau have migrated to
neighbouring Malaysia and the northern islands of the
Philippines, due to the conflict in Mindanao. As of 2010, they
were the second-largest ethnic group in the Malaysian state of
Sabah.
 TBOLI
The Tboli are one of the indigenous peoples
of South Mindanao. From the body of
ethnographic and linguistic literature on
Mindanao, they are variously known as
Tboli, Teboli, Tau Bilil, Tau Bulul or
Tagabilil. They term themselves Tboli. Their
whereabouts and identity are to some extent
confused in the literature; some publications
present the Teboli and the Tagabilil as
distinct peoples; some locate the Tbolis to
the vicinity of the Buluan Lake in the
Cotabato Basin or in Agusan del Norte. The
Tbolis, then, reside on the mountain slopes
on either side of the upper Alah Valley and
the coastal area of Maitum, Maasim and
Kiamba. In former times, the Tbolis also
inhabited the upper Alah Valley floor.
 MANOBO
Manobo is the hispanicized spelling of the endonym
 Manuvu (also spelled Menuvu or Minuvu). Its etymology
is unclear; in its current form it means 'person' or 'people'.
It is believed that it is derived from the
rootword tuvu which means "to grow"/"growth"
(thus Man[t]uvu would be "[native]-grown" or
"aboriginal").

The Manobo are probably the most diverse ethnic groups

of the Philippines in the relationships and names of the
groups that belong to this family of languages. The total
current Manobo population is not known, although they
occupy core areas from Sarangani island into the Mindanao
mainland in the regions of Agusan, Davao, Bukidnon,
Surigao, Misamis, and Cotabato. A study by the journal 
NCCP-PACT put their population in 1988 at around
250,000. The groups occupy such a wide area of
distribution that localized groups have assumed the
character of distinctiveness as a separate ethnic grouping
such as the Bagobo or the Higaonon, and the Atta.
Depending on specific linguistic points of view, the
membership of a dialect with a supergroup shifts.
 SUBANONS
The Subanons are the first settlers of the
Zamboanga peninsula. The family is patriarchal
while the village is led by a chief called a Timuay.
He acts as the village judge and is concerned with
all communal matters.

History has better words to speak for Misamis

Occidental. Its principal city was originally
populated by the Subanon, a cultural group that
once roamed the seas in great number; the
province was an easy prey to the marauding sea
pirates of Lanao whose habit was to stage lightning
forays along the coastal areas in search of slaves.
As the Subanon retreated deeper and deeper into
the interior, the coastal areas became home to
inhabitants from Bukidnon who were steadily
followed by settlers from nearby Cebu and Bohol.
FOUR BUNDLES OF RIGHTS DEFINED
UNDER IPRA
• Rights to Ancestral Domains (Chapter III)
• Right to Self-Governance and Empowerment (Chapter
IV)
• Right to Social Justice and Human Rights (Chapter V)
• Right to Cultural Integrity (Chapter VI)
ANCESTRAL DOMAINS/ LANDS
• Ownership; Develop & manage lands & natural resources;
Stay in territories; Rights in case of displacement; Regulate
entry of migrants; Claim reservations; Right to safe &
clean air & water; Resolve conflict through customary law;
To transfer ancestral lands; To redeem ancestral lands lost
through vitiated consent.
• Note: Ancestral domains/lands are beyond the scope of the
Regalian doctrine (Jura Regalia)
• Native Title- 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 (Section 3l, RA
8371)

• Ancestral Domains- 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. xxx xxx (Section 3a, RA 8371)
• Ancestral Lands- 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 (Section 3b, RA 8371)
RIGHT TO SELF-GOVERNANCE AND
EMPOWERMENT
• Freely pursue economic, social & cultural well-being; Free
Prior Informed Consent in use of resources therein; Use
commonly accepted justice system/conflict resolution
institutions/peace building processes/customary laws;
Participate in decision-making that may affect them;
Mandatory representation in policy-making bodies & local
legislative councils; Determine their own priorities; Organize;
Granted means to fully develop their institutions & initiatives
SOCIAL JUSTICE & HUMAN RIGHTS
• Equal protection & non-discrimination
• Rights during armed conflict
• Equal opportunity & treatment
• Basic services
• Protection to women, children & youth
• Integrated system of education
RIGHT TO CULTURAL INTEGRITY
• Protection of culture, traditions and institutions. These must be
considered in the formulation and application of national plans and
policies;
• Access to cultural opportunities
• Recognition of cultural diversity
• Practice & revitalize their customs & traditions & the state must
protect manifestations thereof
• Religious, cultural sites & ceremonies; funds for archaeological &
historical sites
• Ownership and recognition of cultural and intellectual rights [IKSP]
DELINEATION AND RECOGNITION OF
ANCESTRAL DOMAINS (CHAPTER VIII)
•Self-delineation shall be the guiding principle in the
identification and delineation of ancestral domains. As such,
the ICCs/IPs concerned shall have a decisive role in all the
activities pertinent thereto. The Sworn Statement of the
Elders as to the scope of the territories and agreements/pacts
made with neighboring ICCs/IPs, if any, will be essential to
the determination of these traditional territories. 
(Section 51)
CADT – CERTIFICATE OF ANCESTRAL
DOMAIN TITLE
• Issuance of CADT — ICCs/IPs whose ancestral domains have
been officially delineated and determined by the NCIP shall be
issued a CADT in the name of the community concerned,
containing a list of all those identified in the census; and

• Registration of CADTs — The NCIP shall register issued

certificates of ancestral domain titles and certificates of
ancestral lands titles before the Register of Deeds in the place
where the property is situated.
• It shows the locations
of ancestral domains
with CADTs issued by
NCIP - 206 CADTs
covering an area of
5,110,393 hectares (as
of December 2018).

• To date, 9,833,209
hectares more or less
of ancestral
domains/lands remain
untitled. Total number
of on-process CADT
applications is 169
covering an area of
3,177,781 hectares
more or less.
• Natural Resources within Ancestral Domains. — The ICCs/IPs shall
have priority rights in the harvesting, extraction, development or
exploitation of any natural resources within the ancestral domains. A
non-member of the ICCs/IPs concerned may be allowed to take part in
the development and utilization of the natural resources for a period of
not exceeding twenty-five (25) years renewable for not more than
twenty-five (25) years: Provided, That a formal and written agreement is
entered into with the ICCs/IPs concerned or that the community,
pursuant to its own decision making process, has agreed to allow such
operation: Provided, finally, That the NCIP may exercise visitorial
powers and take appropriate action to safeguard the rights of the
ICCs/IPs under the same contract.

(SECTION 57)
THANK
YOU!