The Indigenous peoples (Ips) of the Higaonon, Mamanwa, Banwaon, Mandaya

and Manobo tribes have lived in and managed their traditional domains that
straddle across six provinces in north eastern Mindanao.Over the years,
indigenous social and political structures had been weakened by the government
neglect, nonrecognition, discrimination, and lack of attention, thus affecting tribe
leadership and eventually creating a vacuum in governance.

Thus, in 2005, 17 indigenous communities belonging to the six tribes embarked on

a process of revitalizing indigenous leadership and self-governance by drawing
from their own tribal customary laws and traditions. This task of revitalizing
indigenous political structures for self-governance was facilitated by tribal elders/
customary law holders working in tandem with IP.
Traditionally, the six tribes are semi-nomadic peoples engaged in “shifting
cultivation;” they cultivate plots of land, then abandon them to allow the plots
to fallow and regenerate as they move on to cultivate new parcels of land.
With this farming practice, families transfer and resettle in various locations,
resulting in tribe members being dispersed in several places, yet remaining
within the scope of their traditional tribal domain.

The Higaunon, like other tribes, fell victim to colonization, leading to the
creation of new political territories and the weakening of traditional institutions.
To ensure genuine IP leadership, it was necessary to rediscover the tribes'
indigenous customary law holders, political structures, systems, and practices
and identify the rightful IP leaders and representative
The goal of revitalizing Indigenous Leadership is to recapture customary law and interface
traditional systems with mainstream society through a partnership among customary law
holders, young IPs, and IP professionals to empower indigenous communities and enable
them to participate in governance systems. Three key processes emerged to restore
indigenous leadership within the tribes.

One of the indicators to ensure getting the seal of good governance is the presence of
IP representatives in LGU councils, following the implementation of the National
Guidelines on IP Mandatory Representation. D Another potential driver is the DILG as it
should monitor the implementation of its memorandum circulars on IP mandatory
representation. D Among government agencies, the task of revitalizing customary
leadership and of ensuring genuine IP representation in local government councils
should fall squarely on the NCIP. Spaces Policy. There are several enabling policies,
such as Republic Act 8371 or IPRA, which recognizes IP rights over their ancestral
domains through tenure instruments such as CADTs and CADCs. IPRA also recognizes
IP rights to self-governance within ancestral domains, through the formulation of
ADSDPPs, which should be integrated into the local and provincial development plans.
Other enabling policies include the NCIP administrative orders and the DILG
memorandum circulars on the National Guidelines on IP Mandatory Representation.
One requirement for the seal of good governance among municipal and provincial
governments with a significant IP constituency is the presence of IP representatives in the local
councils, following the National Guidelines on IP Mandatory Representation. Scaling up
Opportunities The revitalization of customary leadership of the four tribes (Higaunon,
Mamanwa, Banwaon- Talaandig, and Manobo) saw the reemergence of genuine IP leadership.
The NMCIREMP experience proved that restoring genuine IP leadership can be done even
beyond the project scope, as shown when other tribes (Talaandig and Mandaya) joined in the
intertribal coalition and even reached out to other tribe members residing beyond the targeted
ancestral domain areas. There is a need and an opportunity for scaling up, however, the
question is – “Can this be replicated and processes applied to other tribes still struggling in
identifying who their true leaders are?” Potential drivers D Indigenous peoples and indigenous
cultural communities are the prime advocates in the revitalization of indigenous leadership,
political systems and structures, especially with the institution of IPRA. With the growing
incursion of various industries (mining, logging, plantations, tourism) into ancestral domain
territories, indigenous communities are more vigilant in ensuring that they are represented by
genuine IP leaders who will protect their interests. D An increasing number of local government
units (LGUs) are now implementing the IP mandatory representation, as provided by law.