Indigenous Justice

By: De Leon, Jeannie Fe

Group 6
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Indigenous Peoples are distinct social and cultural groups that share collective
ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from
which they have been displaced. The land and natural resources on which they
depend are inextricably linked to their identities, cultures, livelihoods, as well as
their physical and spiritual well-being. They often subscribe to their customary
leaders and organizations for representation that are distinct or separate from
those of the mainstream society or culture. Many Indigenous peoples still
maintain a language distinct from the official language or languages of the
country or region in which they reside.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN
PALAWAN
Palawan is the largest province in the Philippines and is home to several
indigenous ethnolinguistic groups such as the Tagbanua, Palaw’an, Tao’t
Bato, Molbog, Batak, Agutaynen, and Cuyonon.

These groups of people live in remote villages throughout

the province that are found in mountains and coastal areas.
 Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of
1997
Indigenous People's Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA) (RA 8371) is a legislation
that recognize and promote all the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/
Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines.

The decrees that have been passed fail to encompass all the needs of the
indigenous people primarily because of failure in implementation and sole
focus on the land and domains only.

Because of this, a more comprehensive law is needed that "seeks to stop

prejudice against indigenous people through recognition of certain rights over
their ancestral lands, and to live in accordance recognize and protect the rights
of the indigenous people not only to their ancestral domain but to social justice
and human rights, self-determination and empowerment, and their cultural
integrity,[2]" This then gave birth to movements for a comprehensive law that will
protect not only the lands, but human rights of the Filipino indigenous people.
 Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of
1997
The Act makes provision for the promotion and recognition of the rights of
Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs), with a view
to preserve their culture, traditions and institutions and to ensure the equal
protection and non-discrimination of members.

 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;
 Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of
1997
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
PALAWAN: STOP BLAMING
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ FARMING
PRACTICES (KAINGIN) FOR
DEFORESTATION
LOOK INSTEAD TO BOOM CROPS, OIL
PALM PLANTATIONS AND MININ
Palawan, known as the “Philippine last Frontier”, in spite of its
unique recognition as a UNESCO Man & Biosphere Reserve, has
not been spared from massive investments in extractive resources
and industrial agriculture, especially oil palm and rubber. And yet,
Indigenous Peoples and upland dwellers continue to be blamed for
causing massive deforestation and ecological disaster.
Marivic Bero, Secretary General of the Coalition against Land Grabbing
(CALG), comments,

“Here in Palawan, we have the best laws in place to protect both the
environment and the rights of our Indigenous Peoples. However, the limits
of law lie within the implementation process, wherein rules and
regulations are conditioned by the inability of concerned government
agencies and their officials to stand by their own mandates”.

She further argues that the government prohibition to ban kaingin

represents a blatant violation of the major tenets of the
‘Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997’ (Republic Act no. 8371)
which recognizes, protects and promotes the rights of indigenous
cultural communalities. “This is a very powerful law… and should
not be undermined by ‘minor’ laws and municipal ordinances
banning shifting cultivation”, says Bero.
Marivic Bero, Secretary General of the Coalition against Land Grabbing
(CALG), comments,

“Here in Palawan, we have the best laws in place to protect both the
environment and the rights of our Indigenous Peoples. However, the limits of law
lie within the implementation process, wherein rules and regulations are
conditioned by the inability of concerned government agencies and their
officials to stand by their own mandates”.

She further argues that the government prohibition to ban kaingin

represents a blatant violation of the major tenets of the ‘Indigenous
Peoples Rights Act of 1997’ (Republic Act no. 8371) which recognizes,
protects and promotes the rights of indigenous cultural communalities.
“This is a very powerful law… and should not be undermined by ‘minor’
laws and municipal ordinances banning shifting cultivation”, says Bero.
While Palawan’s environment is being ravaged–by agribusiness (mainly
oil palm and rubber), mining enterprises and various forms of land
grabbing–state agencies such as PCSD (as well as some Palawan
NGOs) still view Indigenous kaingin as ‘illegitimate agriculture’ and as the
primary cause of deforestation. “Turning a blind eye to the plunder of
forests by industrial logging, mining activities, agribusiness, and livestock
production, state agencies continue to label and classify kaingin farmers
as primitive, backward and unproductive who waste valuable forest
resources, particularly timber”
In 1994, a ban against shifting cultivation (bawal sa kaingin) was
enforced by former Mayor Edward Hagedorn through the so-called
‘bantay gubat’: an implementing arm composed of poorly trained forest
guards. Sadly, when this happened, no murmur of dissent was raised
by Palawan NGOs, in spite of the severe hardship experienced by
hundreds of Indigenous communities because of the ban. The latter,
however, was strongly opposed by Survival International (SI). An
international campaign by SI resulted in a partial lifting of the ban. In
the end, the former Mayor decided to allow Batak as well as Tagbanua
tribes continue their traditional kaingin practices with a ‘controlled
burning’ in place of the previous ‘zero burning’ policy. However, as the
years passed by, the ban on kaingin was renewed with gusto. It is now
being implemented under the current administration.
Philippine Tribal Minorities Demand Justice

Hundreds of indigenous people marched in the streets of Manila on

Monday, demanding respect for their basic human rights. They
called for the government of President Rodrigo Duterte to drop
trumped-up charges brought by the previous administration against
200 tribal minority rights advocates and urged that state-security
forces stop committing abuses against tribal minorities, particularly
on the southern island of Mindanao.

Monday’s protest is the latest attempt by indigenous groups to seek

justice and accountability for abuses against them. Indigenous groups
often bear the brunt of human rights violations by state security forces in
the Philippines, especially in areas with mining and plantation interests.
Philippine Tribal Minorities Demand Justice

President Duterte has spoken out in defense of the rights of tribal

minorities. In May 2015, while mayor of Davao City, Duterte called
for an end to the killings of lumad tribal minorities. Since becoming
president on June 30, 2016, Duterte has urged the return of
indigenous peoples displaced in the September 2015 Surigao del
Sur attack and welcomed tribal leaders to the presidential palace.

Duterte has an opportunity deliver on his promises to protect the

rights of indigenous peoples. But that will require him to take
measures that he has scorned during his ongoing abusive “war on
drugs”: enforcing rule of law, curbing security force abuses, and
defending constitutional rights and freedoms. Until Duterte drops his
hostility to those concepts, the suffering of the country’s tribal
minorities is unlikely to end anytime soon
WORDS FROM REPORTER:

UP UNTIL NOW, A LOT OF INDIGENOUS PERSON STILL

EXPERIENCE DISCRIMMINATION FROM OTHERS JUST BECAUSE
THEY BELONG TO AN INDEGENOUS GROUP.
A LOT OF THEM ARE STILL BULLIED, ABUSED AND PREJUDICED
BECAUSE OTHER PEOPLE STILL THINK THEY ARE MUCH
DIFFERENT FROM THEM.

AND THAT REALLY NEED TO STOP. LET’S EDUCATE OTHERS IF WE

SEE THEM BULLYING INDIGENOUS PEOPLE. LET’S MAKE THESE
WORLD COMFORTABLE FOR ALL OF US. THEY ARE NOT
DIFFERENT FROM US.