REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES

METRO MANILA

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

CHAPTER I

General Provisions

SECTION 1.            Short Title. — This Act shall be known as “The Indigenous Peoples’
Rights Act of 1997”.

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.

CHAPTER II

Definition of Terms

SECTION 3.            Definition of Terms. — For purposes of this Act, the following terms
shall mean:

a)              Ancestral Domains — Subject to Section 56 hereof, 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;

b)              Ancestral Lands — Subject to Section 56 hereof, 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;

c)              Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title — refers to a title formally recognizing

the rights of possession and ownership of ICCs/IPs over their ancestral domains
identified and delineated in accordance with this law;

d)              Certificate of Ancestral Lands Title — refers to a title formally recognizing the
rights of ICCs/IPs over their ancestral lands;

e)              Communal Claims — refer to claims on land, resources and rights thereon,
belonging to the whole community within a defined territory;

f)               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;
g)              Free and Prior Informed Consent — as used in this Act shall mean the
consensus of all members of the ICCs/IPs to be determined in accordance with their
respective customary laws and practices, free from any external manipulation,
interference and coercion, and obtained after fully disclosing the intent and scope of the
activity, in a language and process understandable to the community;

h)              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;

i)               Indigenous Political Structures — refer to organizational and cultural

leadership systems, institutions, relationships, patterns and processes for decision-
making and participation, identified by ICCs/IPs such as, but not limited to, Council of
Elders, Council of Timuays, Bodong Holders, or any other tribunal or body of similar
nature;

j)               Individual Claims — refer to claims on land and rights thereon which have
been devolved to individuals, families and clans including, but not limited to, residential
lots, rice terraces or paddies and tree lots;

k)              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;

l)               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;

m)            Nongovernment Organization — refers to a private, nonprofit voluntary

organization that has been organized primarily for the delivery of various services to the
ICCs/IPs and has an established track record for effectiveness and acceptability in the
community where it serves;

n)              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;
o)              Sustainable Traditional Resource Rights — refer to the rights of ICCs/IPs to
sustainably use, manage, protect and conserve a) land, air, water, and minerals; b)
plants, animals and other organisms; c) collecting, fishing and hunting grounds; d)
sacred sites; and e) other areas of economic, ceremonial and aesthetic value in
accordance with their indigenous knowledge, beliefs, systems and practices; and

p)              Time Immemorial — 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.

CHAPTER III

Rights to Ancestral Domains

SECTION 4.            Concept of Ancestral Lands/Domains. — Ancestral lands/domains

shall include such concepts of territories which cover not only the physical environment
but the total environment including the spiritual and cultural bonds to the areas which
the ICCs/IPs possess, occupy and use and to which they have claims of ownership.

SECTION 5.            Indigenous Concept of Ownership. — Indigenous concept of

ownership sustains the view that ancestral domains and all resources found therein
shall serve as the material bases of their cultural integrity. The indigenous concept of
ownership generally holds that ancestral domains are the ICC’s/IP’s private but
community property which belongs to all generations and therefore cannot be sold,
disposed or destroyed. It likewise covers sustainable traditional resource rights.

SECTION 6.            Composition of Ancestral Lands/Domains. — Ancestral lands and

domains shall consist of all areas generally belonging to ICCs/IPs as referred under
Sec. 3, items (a) and (b) of this Act.

SECTION 7.            Rights to Ancestral Domains. — The rights of ownership and

possession of ICCs/IPs to their ancestral domains shall be recognized and protected.
Such rights shall include:

a)              Right of Ownership. — The right to claim ownership over lands, bodies of
water traditionally and actually occupied by ICCs/IPs, sacred places, traditional hunting
and fishing grounds, and all improvements made by them at any time within the
domains;

b)              Right to Develop Lands and Natural Resources. — Subject to Section 56

hereof, right to develop, control and use lands and territories traditionally occupied,
owned, or used; to manage and conserve natural resources within the territories and
uphold the responsibilities for future generations; to benefit and share the profits from
allocation and utilization of the natural resources found therein; the right to negotiate
the terms and conditions for the exploration of natural resources in the areas for the
purpose of ensuring ecological, environmental protection and the conservation
measures, pursuant to national and customary laws; the right to an informed and
intelligent participation in the formulation and implementation of any project,
government or private, that will affect or impact upon the ancestral domains and to
receive just and fair compensation for any damages which they may sustain as a result
of the project; and the right to effective measures by the government to prevent any
interference with, alienation and encroachment upon these rights;

c)              Right to Stay in the Territories. — The right to stay in the territory and not to be
removed therefrom. No ICCs/IPs will be relocated without their free and prior informed
consent, nor through any means other than eminent domain. Where relocation is
considered necessary as an exceptional measure, such relocation shall take place only
with the free and prior informed consent of the ICCs/IPs concerned and whenever
possible, they shall be guaranteed the right to return to their ancestral domains, as soon
as the grounds for relocation cease to exist. When such return is not possible, as
determined by agreement or through appropriate procedures, ICCs/IPs shall be provided
in all possible cases with lands of quality and legal status at least equal to that of the
land previously occupied by them, suitable to provide for their present needs and future
development. Persons thus relocated shall likewise be fully compensated for any
resulting loss or injury;

d)              Right in Case of Displacement. — In case displacement occurs as a result of

natural catastrophes, the State shall endeavor to resettle the displaced ICCs/IPs in
suitable areas where they can have temporary life support systems: Provided, That the
displaced ICCs/IPs shall have the right to return to their abandoned lands until such
time that the normalcy and safety of such lands shall be determined: Provided, further,
That should their ancestral domain cease to exist and normalcy and safety of the
previous settlements are not possible, displaced ICCs/IPs shall enjoy security of tenure
over lands to which they have been resettled: Provided, furthermore, That basic services
and livelihood shall be provided to them to ensure that their needs are adequately
addressed;

e)              Right to Regulate Entry of Migrants. — Right to regulate the entry of migrant
settlers and organizations into the domains;

f)               Right to Safe and Clean Air and Water. — For this purpose, the ICCs/IPs shall
have access to integrated systems for the management of their inland waters and air
space;

g)              Right to Claim Parts of Reservations. — The right to claim parts of the
ancestral domains which have been reserved for various purposes, except those
reserved and intended for common public welfare and service; and

h)              Right to Resolve Conflict. — Right to resolve land conflicts in accordance with
customary laws of the area where the land is located, and only in default thereof shall
the complaints be submitted to amicable settlement and to the Courts of Justice
whenever necessary.

SECTION 8.            Rights to Ancestral Lands. — The right of ownership and possession
of the ICCs/IPs to their ancestral lands shall be recognized and protected.

a)              Right to transfer land/property. — Such right shall include the right to transfer
land or property rights to/among members of the same ICCs/IPs, subject to customary
laws and traditions of the community concerned.
b)              Right to Redemption. — In cases where it is shown that the transfer of
land/property rights by virtue of any agreement or devise, to a non-member of the
concerned ICCs/IPs is tainted by the vitiated consent of the ICCs/IPs, or is transferred
for an unconscionable consideration or price, the transferor ICC/IP shall have the right
to redeem the same within a period not exceeding fifteen (15) years from the date of
transfer.

SECTION 9.            Responsibilities of ICCs/IPs to their Ancestral Domains. — ICCs/IPs

occupying a duly certified ancestral domain shall have the following responsibilities:

a)              Maintain Ecological Balance. — To preserve, restore, and maintain a balanced

ecology in the ancestral domain by protecting the flora and fauna, watershed areas, and
other reserves;

b)              Restore Denuded Areas. — To actively initiate, undertake and participate in the
reforestation of denuded areas and other development programs and projects subject
to just and reasonable remuneration; and

c)              Observe Laws. — To observe and comply with the provisions of this Act and
the rules and regulations for its effective implementation.

SECTION 10.         Unauthorized and Unlawful Intrusion. — Unauthorized and unlawful

intrusion upon, or use of any portion of the ancestral domain, or any violation of the
rights hereinbefore enumerated, shall be punishable under this law. Furthermore, the
Government shall take measures to prevent non-ICCs/IPs from taking advantage of the
ICCs/IPs customs or lack of understanding of laws to secure ownership, possession of
land belonging to said ICCs/IPs.

SECTION 11.         Recognition of Ancestral Domain Rights. — The rights of ICCs/IPs to

their ancestral domains by virtue of Native Title shall be recognized and respected.
Formal recognition, when solicited by ICCs/IPs concerned, shall be embodied in a
Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT), which shall recognize the title of the
concerned ICCs/IPs over the territories identified and delineated.

SECTION 12.         Option to Secure Certificate of Title Under Commonwealth Act 141, as
amended, or the Land Registration Act 496. — Individual members of cultural
communities, with respect to their individually-owned ancestral lands who, by
themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest, have been in continuous
possession and occupation of the same in the concept of owner since time immemorial
or for a period of not less than thirty (30) years immediately preceding the approval of
this Act and uncontested by the members of the same ICCs/IPs shall have the option to
secure title to their ancestral lands under the provisions of Commonwealth Act 141, as
amended, or the Land Registration Act 496.

For this purpose, said individually-owned ancestral lands, which are agricultural in
character and actually used for agricultural, residential, pasture, and tree farming
purposes, including those with a slope of eighteen percent (18%) or more, are hereby
classified as alienable and disposable agricultural lands.

The option granted under this section shall be exercised within twenty (20) years from
the approval of this Act.
  CHAPTER IV

Right to Self-Governance and Empowerment

SECTION 13.         Self-Governance. — The State recognizes the inherent right of

ICCs/IPs to self-governance and self-determination and respects the integrity of their
values, practices and institutions. Consequently, the State shall guarantee the right of
ICCs/IPs to freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

SECTION 14.         Support for Autonomous Regions. — The State shall continue to
strengthen and support the autonomous regions created under the Constitution as they
may require or need. The State shall likewise encourage other ICCs/IPs not included or
outside Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras to use the form and content of their ways
of life as may be compatible with the fundamental rights defined in the Constitution of
the Republic of the Philippines and other internationally recognized human rights.

SECTION 15.         Justice System, Conflict Resolution Institutions, and Peace Building
Processes. — The ICCs/IPs shall have the right to use their own commonly accepted
justice systems, conflict resolution institutions, peace building processes or
mechanisms and other customary laws and practices within their respective
communities and as may be compatible with the national legal system and with
internationally recognized human rights.

SECTION 16.         Right to Participate in Decision-Making. — ICCs/IPs have the right to

participate fully, if they so choose, at all levels of decision-making in matters which may
affect their rights, lives and destinies through procedures determined by them as well as
to maintain and develop their own indigenous political structures. Consequently, the
State shall ensure that the ICCs/IPs shall be given mandatory representation in policy-
making bodies and other local legislative councils.

SECTION 17.         Right to Determine and Decide Priorities for Development. — The
ICCs/IPs shall have the right to determine and decide their own priorities for
development affecting their lives, beliefs, institutions, spiritual well-being, and the lands
they own, occupy or use. They shall participate in the formulation, implementation and
evaluation of policies, plans and programs for national, regional and local development
which may directly affect them.

SECTION 18.         Tribal Barangays. — The ICCs/IPs living in contiguous areas or

communities where they form the predominant population but which are located in
municipalities, provinces or cities where they do not constitute the majority of the
population, may form or constitute a separate barangay in accordance with the Local
Government Code on the creation of tribal barangays.

SECTION 19.         Role of Peoples Organizations. — The State shall recognize and
respect the role of independent ICCs/IPs organizations to enable the ICCs/IPs to pursue
and protect their legitimate and collective interests and aspirations through peaceful
and lawful means.

SECTION 20.         Means for Development/Empowerment of ICCs/IPs. — The

Government shall establish the means for the full development/empowerment of the
ICCs/IPs own institutions and initiatives and, where necessary, provide the resources
needed therefor.

CHAPTER V

Social Justice and Human Rights

SECTION 21.         Equal Protection and Non-discrimination of ICCs/IPs. — Consistent

with the equal protection clause of the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines,
the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights including
the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and International
Human Rights Law, the State shall, with due recognition of their distinct characteristics
and identity, accord to the members of the ICCs/IPs the rights, protections and
privileges enjoyed by the rest of the citizenry. It shall extend to them the same
employment rights, opportunities, basic services, educational and other rights and
privileges available to every member of the society. Accordingly, the State shall likewise
ensure that the employment of any form of force or coercion against ICCs/IPs shall be
dealt with by law.

The State shall ensure that the fundamental human rights and freedoms as enshrined in
the Constitution and relevant international instruments are guaranteed also to
indigenous women. Towards this end, no provision in this Act shall be interpreted so as
to result in the diminution of rights and privileges already recognized and accorded to
women under existing laws of general application.

SECTION 22.         Rights During Armed Conflict. — ICCs/IPs have the right to special
protection and security in periods of armed conflict. The State shall observe
international standards, in particular, the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, for the
protection of civilian populations in circumstances of emergency and armed conflict,
and shall not recruit members of the ICCs/IPs against their will into the armed forces,
and in particular, for use against other ICCs/IPs; nor recruit children of ICCs/IPs into the
armed forces under any circumstance; nor force indigenous individuals to abandon their
lands, territories and means of subsistence, or relocate them in special centers for
military purposes under any discriminatory condition.

SECTION 23.         Freedom from Discrimination and Right to Equal Opportunity and
Treatment. — It shall be the right of the ICCs/IPs to be free from any form of
discrimination, with respect to recruitment and conditions of employment, such that
they may enjoy equal opportunities for admission to employment, medical and social
assistance, safety as well as other occupationally-related benefits, informed of their
rights under existing labor legislation and of means available to them for redress, not
subject to any coercive recruitment systems, including bonded labor and other forms of
debt servitude; and equal treatment in employment for men and women, including the
protection from sexual harassment.

Towards this end, the State shall, within the framework of national laws and regulations,
and in cooperation with the ICCs/IPs concerned, adopt special measures to ensure the
effective protection with regard to the recruitment and conditions of employment of
persons belonging to these communities, to the extent that they are not effectively
protected by laws applicable to workers in general.
ICCs/IPs shall have the right to association and freedom for all trade union activities
and the right to conclude collective bargaining agreements with employers’
organizations. They shall likewise have the right not to be subject to working conditions
hazardous to their health, particularly through exposure to pesticides and other toxic
substances.

SECTION 24.         Unlawful Acts Pertaining to Employment. — It shall be unlawful for any
person:

a)              To discriminate against any ICC/IP with respect to the terms and conditions
of employment on account of their descent. Equal remuneration shall be paid to ICC/IP
and non-ICC/IP for work of equal value; and

b)              To deny any ICC/IP employee any right or benefit herein provided for or to
discharge them for the purpose of preventing them from enjoying any of the rights or
benefits provided under this Act.

SECTION 25.         Basic Services. — The ICCs/IPs have the right to special measures for
the immediate, effective and continuing improvement of their economic and social
conditions, including in the areas of employment, vocational training and retraining,
housing, sanitation, health and social security. Particular attention shall be paid to the
rights and special needs of indigenous women, elderly, youth, children and differently-
abled persons. Accordingly, the State shall guarantee the right of ICCs/IPs to
government’s basic services which shall include, but not limited to, water and electrical
facilities, education, health, and infrastructure.

SECTION 26.         Women. — ICC/IP women shall enjoy equal rights and opportunities
with men, as regards the social, economic, political and cultural spheres of life. The
participation of indigenous women in the decision-making process in all levels, as well
as in the development of society, shall be given due respect and recognition.

The State shall provide full access to education, maternal and child care, health and
nutrition, and housing services to indigenous women. Vocational, technical,
professional and other forms of training shall be provided to enable these women to
fully participate in all aspects of social life. As far as possible, the State shall ensure
that indigenous women have access to all services in their own languages.

SECTION 27.         Children and Youth. — The State shall recognize the vital role of the
children and youth of ICCs/IPs in nation-building and shall promote and protect their
physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being. Towards this end, the State
shall support all government programs intended for the development and rearing of the
children and youth of ICCs/IPs for civic efficiency and establish such mechanisms as
may be necessary for the protection of the rights of the indigenous children and youth.

SECTION 28.         Integrated System of Education. — The State shall, through the NCIP,
provide a complete, adequate and integrated system of education, relevant to the needs
of the children and young people of ICCs/IPs.

CHAPTER VI

Cultural Integrity
SECTION 29.         Protection of Indigenous Culture, Traditions and Institutions. — The
State shall respect, recognize and protect the right of ICCs/IPs to preserve and protect
their culture, traditions and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the formulation
and application of national plans and policies.

SECTION 30.         Educational Systems. — The State shall provide equal access to
various cultural opportunities to the ICCs/IPs through the educational system, public or
private cultural entities, scholarships, grants and other incentives without prejudice to
their right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions by
providing education in their own language, in a manner appropriate to their cultural
methods of teaching and learning. Indigenous children/youth shall have the right to all
levels and forms of education of the State.

SECTION 31.         Recognition of Cultural Diversity. — The State shall endeavor to have
the dignity and diversity of the cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations of the
ICCs/IPs appropriately reflected in all forms of education, public information and
cultural-educational exchange. Consequently, the State shall take effective measures, in
consultation with ICCs/IPs concerned, to eliminate prejudice and discrimination and to
promote tolerance, understanding and good relations among ICCs/IPs and all segments
of society. Furthermore, the Government shall take effective measures to ensure that
the State-owned media duly reflect indigenous cultural diversity. The State shall likewise
ensure the participation of appropriate indigenous leaders in schools, communities and
international cooperative undertakings like festivals, conferences, seminars and
workshops to promote and enhance their distinctive heritage and values.

SECTION 32.         Community Intellectual Rights. — ICCs/IPs have the right to practice
and revitalize their own cultural traditions and customs. The State shall preserve,
protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures as well
as the right to the restitution of cultural, intellectual, religious, and spiritual property
taken without their free and prior informed consent or in violation of their laws,
traditions and customs.

SECTION 33.         Rights to Religious, Cultural Sites and Ceremonies. — ICCs/IPs shall
have the right to manifest, practice, develop, and teach their spiritual and religious
traditions, customs and ceremonies; the right to maintain, protect and have access to
their religious and cultural sites; the right to use and control of ceremonial objects; and,
the right to the repatriation of human remains. Accordingly, the State shall take effective
measures, in cooperation with the ICCs/IPs concerned, to ensure that indigenous
sacred places, including burial sites, be preserved, respected and protected. To achieve
this purpose, it shall be unlawful to:

a)              Explore, excavate or make diggings on archeological sites of the ICCs/IPs for
the purpose of obtaining materials of cultural values without the free and prior informed
consent of the community concerned; and

b)              Deface, remove or otherwise destroy artifacts which are of great importance
to the ICCs/IPs for the preservation of their cultural heritage.

SECTION 34.         Right to Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices and to Develop
own Sciences and Technologies. — ICCs/IPs are entitled to the recognition of the full
ownership and control and protection of their cultural and intellectual rights. They shall
have the right to special measures to control, develop and protect their sciences,
technologies and cultural manifestations, including human and other genetic resources,
seeds, including derivatives of these resources, traditional medicines and health
practices, vital medicinal plants, animals and minerals, indigenous knowledge systems
and practices, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literature,
designs, and visual and performing arts.

SECTION 35.         Access to Biological and Genetic Resources. — Access to biological

and genetic resources and to indigenous knowledge related to the conservation,
utilization and enhancement of these resources, shall be allowed within ancestral lands
and domains of the ICCs/IPs only with a free and prior informed consent of such
communities, obtained in accordance with customary laws of the concerned
community.

SECTION 36.         Sustainable Agro-Technical Development. — The State shall recognize

the right of ICCs/IPs to a sustainable agro-technological development and shall
formulate and implement programs of action for its effective implementation. The State
shall likewise promote the bio-genetic and resource management systems among the
ICCs/IPs and shall encourage cooperation among government agencies to ensure the
successful sustainable development of ICCs/IPs.

SECTION 37.         Funds for Archeological and Historical Sites. — The ICCs/IPs shall
have the right to receive from the national government all funds especially earmarked or
allocated for the management and preservation of their archeological and historical
sites and artifacts with the financial and technical support of the national government
agencies.

CHAPTER VII

National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)

SECTION 38.         National Commission on Indigenous Cultural

Communities/Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). — To carry out the policies herein set forth,
there shall be created the National Commission on ICCs/IPs (NCIP), which shall be the
primary government agency responsible for the formulation and implementation of
policies, plans and programs to promote and protect the rights and well-being of the
ICCs/IPs and the recognition of their ancestral domains as well as the rights thereto.

SECTION 39.         Mandate. — The NCIP shall protect and promote the interest and well-
being of the ICCs/IPs with due regard to their beliefs, customs, traditions and
institutions.

SECTION 40.         Composition. — The NCIP shall be an independent agency under the
Office of the President and shall be composed of seven (7) Commissioners belonging
to ICCs/IPs, one (1) of whom shall be the Chairperson. The Commissioners shall be
appointed by the President of the Philippines from a list of recommendees submitted by
authentic ICCs/IPs: Provided, That the seven (7) Commissioners shall be appointed
specifically from each of the following ethnographic areas: Region I and the Cordilleras;
Region II; the rest of Luzon; Island Groups including Mindoro, Palawan, Romblon, Panay
and the rest of the Visayas; Northern and Western Mindanao; Southern and Eastern
Mindanao; and Central Mindanao: Provided, That at least two (2) of the seven (7)
Commissioners shall be women.

SECTION 41.         Qualifications, Tenure, Compensation. — The Chairperson and the six
(6) Commissioners must be natural born Filipino citizens, bona fide members of the
ICCs/IPs as certified by his/her tribe, experienced in ethnic affairs and who have worked
for at least ten (10) years with an ICC/IP community and/or any government agency
involved in ICC/IP, at least 35 years of age at the time of appointment, and must be of
proven honesty and integrity: Provided, That at least two (2) of the seven (7)
Commissioners shall be members of the Philippine Bar: Provided, further, That the
members of the NCIP shall hold office for a period of three (3) years, and may be
subject to re-appointment for another term: Provided, furthermore, That no person shall
serve for more than two (2) terms. Appointment to any vacancy shall only be for the
unexpired term of the predecessor and in no case shall a member be appointed or
designated in a temporary or acting capacity: Provided, finally, That the Chairperson and
the Commissioners shall be entitled to compensation in accordance with the Salary
Standardization Law.

SECTION 42.         Removal from Office. — Any member of the NCIP may be removed
from office by the President, on his own initiative or upon recommendation by any
indigenous community, before the expiration of his term for cause and after complying
with due process requirement of law.

SECTION 43.         Appointment of Commissioners. — The President shall appoint the

seven (7) Commissioners of the NCIP within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this
Act.

SECTION 44.         Powers and Functions. — To accomplish its mandate, the NCIP shall
have the following powers, jurisdiction and function:

a)              To serve as the primary government agency through which ICCs/IPs can seek
government assistance and as the medium, through which such assistance may be
extended;

b)              To review and assess the conditions of ICCs/IPs including existing laws and
policies pertinent thereto and to propose relevant laws and policies to address their role
in national development;

c)              To formulate and implement policies, plans, programs and projects for the
economic, social and cultural development of the ICCs/IPs and to monitor the
implementation thereof;

d)              To request and engage the services and support of experts from other
agencies of government or employ private experts and consultants as may be required
in the pursuit of its objectives;

e)              To issue certificate of ancestral land/domain title;

f)               Subject to existing laws, to enter into contracts, agreements, or arrangement,

with government or private agencies or entities as may be necessary to attain the
objectives of this Act, and subject to the approval of the President, to obtain loans from
government lending institutions and other lending institutions to finance its programs;

g)              To negotiate for funds and to accept grants, donations, gifts and/or properties
in whatever form and from whatever source, local and international, subject to the
approval of the President of the Philippines, for the benefit of ICCs/IPs and administer
the same in accordance with the terms thereof; or in the absence of any condition, in
such manner consistent with the interest of ICCs/IPs as well as existing laws;

h)              To coordinate development programs and projects for the advancement of

the ICCs/IPs and to oversee the proper implementation thereof;

i)               To convene periodic conventions or assemblies of IPs to review, assess as

well as propose policies or plans;

j)               To advise the President of the Philippines on all matters relating to the
ICCs/IPs and to submit within sixty (60) days after the close of each calendar year, a
report of its operations and achievements;

k)              To submit to Congress appropriate legislative proposals intended to carry out

the policies under this Act;

l)               To prepare and submit the appropriate budget to the Office of the President;

m)            To issue appropriate certification as a pre-condition to the grant of permit,

lease, grant, or any other similar authority for the disposition, utilization, management
and appropriation by any private individual, corporate entity or any government agency,
corporation or subdivision thereof on any part or portion of the ancestral domain taking
into consideration the consensus approval of the ICCs/IPs concerned;

n)              To decide all appeals from the decisions and acts of all the various offices
within the Commission;

o)              To promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of
this Act;

p)              To exercise such other powers and functions as may be directed by the
President of the Republic of the Philippines; and

q)              To represent the Philippine ICCs/IPs in all international conferences and

conventions dealing with indigenous peoples and other related concerns.

SECTION 45.         Accessibility and Transparency. — Subject to such limitations as may

be provided by law or by rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, all official
records, documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions, as
well as research data used as basis for policy development of the Commission shall be
made accessible to the public.

SECTION 46.         Offices within the NCIP. — The NCIP shall have the following offices
which shall be responsible for the implementation of the policies hereinafter provided:
a)              Ancestral Domains Office — The Ancestral Domain Office shall be responsible
for the identification, delineation and recognition of ancestral lands/domains. It shall
also be responsible for the management of ancestral lands/domains in accordance
with a master plan as well as the implementation of the ancestral domain rights of the
ICCs/IPs as provided in Chapter III of this Act. It shall also issue, upon the free and prior
informed consent of the ICCs/IPs concerned, certification prior to the grant of any
license, lease or permit for the exploitation of natural resources affecting the interests
of ICCs/IPs or their ancestral domains and to assist the ICCs/IPs in protecting the
territorial integrity of all ancestral domains. It shall likewise perform such other
functions as the Commission may deem appropriate and necessary;

b)              Office on Policy, Planning and Research — The Office on Policy, Planning and
Research shall be responsible for the formulation of appropriate policies and programs
for ICCs/IPs such as, but not limited to, the development of a Five-Year Master Plan for
the ICCs/IPs. Such plan shall undergo a process such that every five years, the
Commission shall endeavor to assess the plan and make ramifications in accordance
with the changing situations. The Office shall also undertake the documentation of
customary law and shall establish and maintain a Research Center that would serve as
a depository of ethnographic information for monitoring, evaluation and policy
formulation. It shall assist the legislative branch of the national government in the
formulation of appropriate legislation benefiting ICCs/IPs;

c)              Office of Education, Culture and Health — The Office on Culture, Education and
Health shall be responsible for the effective implementation of the education, cultural
and related rights as provided in this Act. It shall assist, promote and support
community schools, both formal and non-formal, for the benefit of the local indigenous
community, especially in areas where existing educational facilities are not accessible
to members of the indigenous group. It shall administer all scholarship programs and
other educational rights intended for ICC/IP beneficiaries in coordination with the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports and the Commission on Higher Education.
It shall undertake, within the limits of available appropriation, a special program which
includes language and vocational training, public health and family assistance program
and related subjects.

It shall also identify ICCs/IPs with potential training in the health profession and
encourage and assist them to enroll in schools of medicine, nursing, physical therapy
and other allied courses pertaining to the health profession.

Towards this end, the NCIP shall deploy a representative in each of the said offices who
shall personally perform the foregoing task and who shall receive complaints from the
ICCs/IPs and compel action from appropriate agency. It shall also monitor the activities
of the National Museum and other similar government agencies generally intended to
manage and preserve historical and archeological artifacts of the ICCs/IPs and shall be
responsible for the implementation of such other functions as the NCIP may deem
appropriate and necessary;

d)              Office on Socio-Economic Services and Special Concerns — The Office on

Socio-Economic Services and Special Concerns shall serve as the Office through which
the NCIP shall coordinate with pertinent government agencies specially charged with
the implementation of various basic socio-economic services, policies, plans and
programs affecting the ICCs/IPs to ensure that the same are properly and directly
enjoyed by them. It shall also be responsible for such other functions as the NCIP may
deem appropriate and necessary;

e)              Office of Empowerment and Human Rights — The Office of Empowerment and
Human Rights shall ensure that indigenous socio-political, cultural and economic rights
are respected and recognized. It shall ensure that capacity building mechanisms are
instituted and ICCs/IPs are afforded every opportunity, if they so choose, to participate
in all levels of decision-making. It shall likewise ensure that the basic human rights, and
such other rights as the NCIP may determine, subject to existing laws, rules and
regulations, are protected and promoted;

f)               Administrative Office — The Administrative Office shall provide the NCIP with
economical, efficient and effective services pertaining to personnel, finance, records,
equipment, security, supplies and related services. It shall also administer the Ancestral
Domains Fund; and

g)              Legal Affairs Office — There shall be a Legal Affairs Office which shall advice
the NCIP on all legal matters concerning ICCs/IPs and which shall be responsible for
providing ICCs/IPs with legal assistance in litigation involving community interest. It
shall conduct preliminary investigation on the basis of complaints filed by the ICCs/IPs
against a natural or juridical person believed to have violated ICCs/IPs rights. On the
basis of its findings, it shall initiate the filing of appropriate legal or administrative action
to the NCIP.

SECTION 47.         Other Offices. — The NCIP shall have the power to create additional
offices as it may deem necessary subject to existing rules and regulations.

SECTION 48.         Regional and Field Offices. — Existing regional and field offices shall
remain to function under the strengthened organizational structure of the NCIP. Other
field offices shall be created wherever appropriate and the staffing pattern thereof shall
be determined by the NCIP: Provided, That in provinces where there are ICCs/IPs but
without field offices, the NCIP shall establish field offices in said provinces.

SECTION 49.         Office of the Executive Director. — The NCIP shall create the Office of
the Executive Director which shall serve as its secretariat. The Office shall be headed by
an Executive Director who shall be appointed by the President of the Republic of the
Philippines upon recommendation of the NCIP on a permanent basis. The staffing
pattern of the office shall be determined by the NCIP subject to the existing rules and
regulations.

SECTION 50.         Consultative Body. — A body consisting of the traditional leaders,

elders and representatives from the women and youth sectors of the different ICCs/IPs
shall be constituted by the NCIP from time to time to advise it on matters relating to the
problems, aspirations and interests of the ICCs/IPs.

CHAPTER VIII

Delineation and Recognition of Ancestral Domains

SECTION 51.         Delineation and Recognition of Ancestral Domains. — 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. The Government shall take the necessary
steps to identify lands which the ICCs/IPs concerned traditionally occupy and guarantee
effective protection of their rights of ownership and possession thereto. Measures shall
be taken in appropriate cases to safeguard the right of the ICCs/IPs concerned to land
which may no longer be exclusively occupied by them, but to which they have
traditionally had access for their subsistence and traditional activities, particularly of
ICCs/IPs who are still nomadic and/or shifting cultivators.

SECTION 52.         Delineation Process. — The identification and delineation of ancestral

domains shall be done in accordance with the following procedures:

a)              Ancestral Domains Delineated Prior to this Act. — The provisions hereunder
shall not apply to ancestral domains/lands already delineated according to DENR
Administrative Order No. 2, series of 1993, nor to ancestral lands and domains
delineated under any other community/ancestral domain program prior to the
enactment of this law. ICCs/IPs whose ancestral lands/domains were officially
delineated prior to the enactment of this law shall have the right to apply for the
issuance of a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) over the area without going
through the process outlined hereunder;

b)              Petition for Delineation. — The process of delineating a specific perimeter may
be initiated by the NCIP with the consent of the ICC/IP concerned, or through a Petition
for Delineation filed with the NCIP, by a majority of the members of the ICCs/IPs;

c)              Delineation Proper. — The official delineation of ancestral domain boundaries

including census of all community members therein, shall be immediately undertaken
by the Ancestral Domains Office upon filing of the application by the ICCs/IPs
concerned. Delineation will be done in coordination with the community concerned and
shall at all times include genuine involvement and participation by the members of the
communities concerned;

d)              Proof Required. — Proof of Ancestral Domain Claims shall include the
testimony of elders or community under oath, and other documents directly or indirectly
attesting to the possession or occupation of the area since time immemorial by such
ICCs/IPs in the concept of owners which shall be any one (1) of the following authentic
documents:

1)              Written accounts of the ICCs/IPs customs and traditions;

2)              Written accounts of the ICCs/IPs political structure and institution;

3)              Pictures showing long term occupation such as those of old improvements,
burial grounds, sacred places and old villages;

4)              Historical accounts, including pacts and agreements concerning boundaries

entered into by the ICCs/IPs concerned with other ICCs/IPs;
5)              Survey plans and sketch maps;

6)              Anthropological data;

7)              Genealogical surveys;

8)              Pictures and descriptive histories of traditional communal forests and hunting
grounds;

9)              Pictures and descriptive histories of traditional landmarks such as mountains,

rivers, creeks, ridges, hills, terraces and the like; and

10)           Write-ups of names and places derived from the native dialect of the
community.

e)              Preparation of Maps. — On the basis of such investigation and the findings of
fact based thereon, the Ancestral Domains Office of the NCIP shall prepare a perimeter
map, complete with technical descriptions, and a description of the natural features and
landmarks embraced therein;

f)               Report of Investigation and Other Documents. — A complete copy of the

preliminary census and a report of investigation, shall be prepared by the Ancestral
Domains Office of the NCIP;

g)              Notice and Publication. — A copy of each document, including a translation in

the native language of the ICCs/IPs concerned shall be posted in a prominent place
therein for at least fifteen (15) days. A copy of the document shall also be posted at the
local, provincial and regional offices of the NCIP, and shall be published in a newspaper
of general circulation once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks to allow other
claimants to file opposition thereto within fifteen (15) days from date of such
publication: Provided, That in areas where no such newspaper exists, broadcasting in a
radio station will be a valid substitute: Provided, further, That mere posting shall be
deemed sufficient if both newspaper and radio station are not available;

h)              Endorsement to NCIP. — Within fifteen (15) days from publication, and of the
inspection process, the Ancestral Domains Office shall prepare a report to the NCIP
endorsing a favorable action upon a claim that is deemed to have sufficient proof.
However, if the proof is deemed insufficient, the Ancestral Domains Office shall require
the submission of additional evidence: Provided, That the Ancestral Domains Office
shall reject any claim that is deemed patently false or fraudulent after inspection and
verification: Provided, further, That in case of rejection, the Ancestral Domains Office
shall give the applicant due notice, copy furnished all concerned, containing the grounds
for denial. The denial shall be appealable to the NCIP: Provided, furthermore, That in
cases where there are conflicting claims among ICCs/IPs on the boundaries of
ancestral domain claims, the Ancestral Domains Office shall cause the contending
parties to meet and assist them in coming up with a preliminary resolution of the
conflict, without prejudice to its full adjudication according to the section below.

i)               Turnover of Areas Within Ancestral Domains Managed by Other Government

Agencies. — The Chairperson of the NCIP shall certify that the area covered is an
ancestral domain. The secretaries of the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, Department of the Interior and Local Government,
and Department of Justice, the Commissioner of the National Development Corporation,
and any other government agency claiming jurisdiction over the area shall be notified
thereof. Such notification shall terminate any legal basis for the jurisdiction previously
claimed;

j)               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

k)              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.

SECTION 53.         Identification, Delineation and Certification of Ancestral Lands. —

a)              The allocation of lands within any ancestral domain to individual or

indigenous corporate (family or clan) claimants shall be left to the ICCs/IPs concerned
to decide in accordance with customs and traditions;

b)              Individual and indigenous corporate claimants of ancestral lands which are
not within ancestral domains, may have their claims officially established by filing
applications for the identification and delineation of their claims with the Ancestral
Domains Office. An individual or recognized head of a family or clan may file such
application in his behalf or in behalf of his family or clan, respectively;

c)              Proofs of such claims shall accompany the application form which shall
include the testimony under oath of elders of the community and other documents
directly or indirectly attesting to the possession or occupation of the areas since time
immemorial by the individual or corporate claimants in the concept of owners which
shall be any of the authentic documents enumerated under Sec. 52 (d) of this Act,
including tax declarations and proofs of payment of taxes;

d)              The Ancestral Domains Office may require from each ancestral claimant the
submission of such other documents, Sworn Statements and the like, which in its
opinion, may shed light on the veracity of the contents of the application/claim;

e)              Upon receipt of the applications for delineation and recognition of ancestral
land claims, the Ancestral Domains Office shall cause the publication of the application
and a copy of each document submitted including a translation in the native language
of the ICCs/IPs concerned in a prominent place therein for at least fifteen (15) days. A
copy of the document shall also be posted at the local, provincial, and regional offices
of the NCIP and shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation once a week
for two (2) consecutive weeks to allow other claimants to file opposition thereto within
fifteen (15) days from the date of such publication: Provided, That in areas where no
such newspaper exists, broadcasting in a radio station will be a valid substitute:
Provided, further, That mere posting shall be deemed sufficient if both newspapers and
radio station are not available;

f)               Fifteen (15) days after such publication, the Ancestral Domains Office shall
investigate and inspect each application, and if found to be meritorious, shall cause a
parcellary survey of the area being claimed. The Ancestral Domains Office shall reject
any claim that is deemed patently false or fraudulent after inspection and verification. In
case of rejection, the Ancestral Domains Office shall give the applicant due notice, copy
furnished all concerned, containing the grounds for denial. The denial shall be
appealable to the NCIP. In case of conflicting claims among individuals or indigenous
corporate claimants, the Ancestral Domains Office shall cause the contending parties to
meet and assist them in coming up with a preliminary resolution of the conflict, without
prejudice to its full adjudication according to Sec. 62 of this Act. In all proceedings for
the identification or delineation of the ancestral domains as herein provided, the
Director of Lands shall represent the interest of the Republic of the Philippines; and

g)              The Ancestral Domains Office shall prepare and submit a report on each and
every application surveyed and delineated to the NCIP, which shall, in turn, evaluate the
report submitted. If the NCIP finds such claim meritorious, it shall issue a certificate of
ancestral land, declaring and certifying the claim of each individual or corporate (family
or clan) claimant over ancestral lands.

SECTION 54.         Fraudulent Claims. — The Ancestral Domains Office may, upon written
request from the ICCs/IPs, review existing claims which have been fraudulently
acquired by any person or community. Any claim found to be fraudulently acquired by,
and issued to, any person or community may be cancelled by the NCIP after due notice
and hearing of all parties concerned.

SECTION 55.         Communal Rights. — Subject to Section 56 hereof, areas within the
ancestral domains, whether delineated or not, shall be presumed to be communally
held: Provided, That communal rights under this Act shall not be construed as co-
ownership as provided in Republic Act No. 386, otherwise known as the New Civil Code.

SECTION 56.         Existing Property Rights Regimes. — Property rights within the
ancestral domains already existing and/or vested upon effectivity of this Act, shall be
recognized and respected.

SECTION 57.         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 58.         Environmental Considerations. — Ancestral domains or portions

thereof, which are found to be necessary for critical watersheds, mangroves, wildlife
sanctuaries, wilderness, protected areas, forest cover, or reforestation as determined by
appropriate agencies with the full participation of the ICCs/IPs concerned shall be
maintained, managed and developed for such purposes. The ICCs/IPs concerned shall
be given the responsibility to maintain, develop, protect and conserve such areas with
the full and effective assistance of government agencies. Should the ICCs/IPs decide to
transfer the responsibility over the areas, said decision must be made in writing. The
consent of the ICCs/IPs should be arrived at in accordance with its customary laws
without prejudice to the basic requirements of existing laws on free and prior informed
consent: Provided, That the transfer shall be temporary and will ultimately revert to the
ICCs/IPs in accordance with a program for technology transfer: Provided, further, That
no ICCs/IPs shall be displaced or relocated for the purpose enumerated under this
section without the written consent of the specific persons authorized to give consent.

SECTION 59.         Certification Precondition. — All departments and other governmental

agencies shall henceforth be strictly enjoined from issuing, renewing, or granting any
concession, license or lease, or entering into any production-sharing agreement, without
prior certification from the NCIP that the area affected does not overlap with any
ancestral domain. Such certification shall only be issued after a field-based
investigation is conducted by the Ancestral Domains Office of the area concerned:
Provided, That no certification shall be issued by the NCIP without the free and prior
informed and written consent of ICCs/IPs concerned: Provided, further, That no
department, government agency or government-owned or -controlled corporation may
issue new concession, license, lease, or production sharing agreement while there is a
pending application for a CADT: Provided, finally, That the ICCs/IPs shall have the right
to stop or suspend, in accordance with this Act, any project that has not satisfied the
requirement of this consultation process.

SECTION 60.         Exemption from Taxes. — All lands certified to be ancestral domains
shall be exempt from real property taxes, special levies, and other forms of exaction
except such portion of the ancestral domains as are actually used for large-scale
agriculture, commercial forest plantation and residential purposes or upon titling by
private persons: Provided, That all exactions shall be used to facilitate the development
and improvement of the ancestral domains.

SECTION 61.         Temporary Requisition Powers. — Prior to the establishment of an

institutional surveying capacity whereby it can effectively fulfill its mandate, but in no
case beyond three (3) years after its creation, the NCIP is hereby authorized to request
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) survey teams as well as
other equally capable private survey teams, through a Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA), to delineate ancestral domain perimeters. The DENR Secretary shall
accommodate any such request within one (1) month of its issuance: Provided, That the
Memorandum of Agreement shall stipulate, among others, a provision for technology
transfer to the NCIP.

SECTION 62.         Resolution of Conflicts. — In cases of conflicting interest, where there

are adverse claims within the ancestral domains as delineated in the survey plan, and
which can not be resolved, the NCIP shall hear and decide, after notice to the proper
parties, the disputes arising from the delineation of such ancestral domains: Provided,
That if the dispute is between and/or among ICCs/IPs regarding the traditional
boundaries of their respective ancestral domains, customary process shall be followed.
The NCIP shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to carry out its
adjudicatory functions: Provided, further, That any decision, order, award or ruling of the
NCIP on any ancestral domain dispute or on any matter pertaining to the application,
implementation, enforcement and interpretation of this Act may be brought for Petition
for Review to the Court of Appeals within fifteen (15) days from receipt of a copy
thereof.

SECTION 63.         Applicable Laws. — Customary laws, traditions and practices of the
ICCs/IPs of the land where the conflict arises shall be applied first with respect to
property rights, claims and ownerships, hereditary succession and settlement of land
disputes. Any doubt or ambiguity in the application and interpretation of laws shall be
resolved in favor of the ICCs/IPs.

SECTION 64.         Remedial Measures. — Expropriation may be resorted to in the

resolution of conflicts of interest following the principle of the “common good”. The
NCIP shall take appropriate legal action for the cancellation of officially documented
titles which were acquired illegally: Provided, That such procedure shall ensure that the
rights of possessors in good faith shall be respected: Provided, further, That the action
for cancellation shall be initiated within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Act:
Provided, finally, That the action for reconveyance shall be within a period of ten (10)
years in accordance with existing laws.

CHAPTER IX

Jurisdiction and Procedures for Enforcement of Rights

SECTION 65.         Primacy of Customary Laws and Practices. — When disputes involve
ICCs/IPs, customary laws and practices shall be used to resolve the dispute.

SECTION 66.         Jurisdiction of the NCIP. — The NCIP, through its regional offices,
shall have jurisdiction over all claims and disputes involving rights of ICCs/IPs:
Provided, however, That no such dispute shall be brought to the NCIP unless the parties
have exhausted all remedies provided under their customary laws. For this purpose, a
certification shall be issued by the Council of Elders/Leaders who participated in the
attempt to settle the dispute that the same has not been resolved, which certification
shall be a condition precedent to the filing of a petition with the NCIP.

SECTION 67.         Appeals to the Court of Appeals. — Decisions of the NCIP shall be
appealable to the Court of Appeals by way of a petition for review.

SECTION 68.         Execution of Decisions, Awards, Orders. — Upon expiration of the

period herein provided and no appeal is perfected by any of the contending parties, the
Hearing Officer of the NCIP, on its own initiative or upon motion by the prevailing party,
shall issue a writ of execution requiring the sheriff or the proper officer to execute final
decisions, orders or awards of the Regional Hearing Officer of the NCIP.

SECTION 69.         Quasi-Judicial Powers of the NCIP. — The NCIP shall have the power
and authority:

a)              To promulgate rules and regulations governing the hearing and disposition of
cases filed before it as well as those pertaining to its internal functions and such rules
and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act;

b)              To administer oaths, summon the parties to a controversy, issue subpoenas

requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses or the production of such books,
papers, contracts, records, agreements and other document of similar nature as may be
material to a just determination of the matter under investigation or hearing conducted
in pursuance of this Act;

c)              To hold any person in contempt, directly or indirectly, and impose appropriate
penalties therefor; and

d)              To enjoin any or all acts involving or arising from any case pending before it
which, if not restrained forthwith, may cause grave or irreparable damage to any of the
parties to the case or seriously affect social or economic activity.

SECTION 70.         No Restraining Order or Preliminary Injunction. — No inferior court of

the Philippines shall have jurisdiction to issue any restraining order or writ of preliminary
injunction against the NCIP or any of its duly authorized or designated offices in any
case, dispute or controversy arising from, necessary to, or interpretation of this Act and
other pertinent laws relating to ICCs/IPs and ancestral domains.

CHAPTER X

Ancestral Domains Fund

SECTION 71.         Ancestral Domains Fund. — There is hereby created a special fund, to
be known as the Ancestral Domains Fund, an initial amount of One hundred thirty
million pesos (P130,000,000) to cover compensation for expropriated lands, delineation
and development of ancestral domains. An amount of Fifty million pesos (P50,000,000)
shall be sourced from the gross income of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office
(PCSO) from its lotto operation, Ten million pesos (P10,000,000) from the gross
receipts of the travel tax of the preceding year, the fund of the Social Reform Council
intended for survey and delineation of ancestral lands/domains, and such other source
as the government may deem appropriate. Thereafter, such amount shall be included in
the annual General Appropriations Act. Foreign as well as local funds which are made
available for the ICCs/IPs through the government of the Philippines shall be coursed
through the NCIP. The NCIP may also solicit and receive donations, endowments and
grants in the form of contributions, and such endowments shall be exempted from
income or gift taxes and all other taxes, charges or fees imposed by the government or
any political subdivision or instrumentality thereof.

CHAPTER XI

Penalties

SECTION 72.         Punishable Acts and Applicable Penalties. — Any person who
commits violation of any of the provisions of this Act, such as, but not limited to,
unauthorized and/or unlawful intrusion upon any ancestral lands or domains as stated
in Sec. 10, Chapter III, or shall commit any of the prohibited acts mentioned in Sections
21 and 24, Chapter V, Section 33, Chapter VI hereof, shall be punished in accordance
with the customary laws of the ICCs/IPs concerned: Provided, That no such penalty
shall be cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment: Provided, further, That neither shall
the death penalty or excessive fines be imposed. This provision shall be without
prejudice to the right of any ICCs/IPs to avail of the protection of existing laws. In which
case, any person who violates any provision of this Act shall, upon conviction, be
punished by imprisonment of not less than nine (9) months but not more than twelve
(12) years or a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000) nor more
than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000) or both such fine and imprisonment upon
the discretion of the court. In addition, he shall be obliged to pay to the ICCs/IPs
concerned whatever damage may have been suffered by the latter as a consequence of
the unlawful act.

SECTION 73.         Persons Subject to Punishment. — If the offender is a juridical person,

all officers such as, but not limited to, its president, manager, or head of office
responsible for their unlawful act shall be criminally liable therefor, in addition to the
cancellation of certificates of their registration and/or license: Provided, That if the
offender is a public official, the penalty shall include perpetual disqualification to hold
public office.

CHAPTER XII

Merger of the Office for Northern Cultural Communities (ONCC) and the Office for
Southern Cultural Communities (OSCC)

SECTION 74.         Merger of ONCC/OSCC. — The Office for Northern Cultural

Communities (ONCC) and the Office of Southern Cultural Communities (OSCC), created
under Executive Order Nos. 122-B and 122-C respectively, are hereby merged as organic
offices of the NCIP and shall continue to function under a revitalized and strengthened
structures to achieve the objectives of the NCIP: Provided, That the positions of Staff
Directors, Bureau Directors, Deputy Executive Directors and Executive Directors, except
positions of Regional Directors and below, are hereby phased-out upon the effectivity of
this Act: Provided, further, That officials and employees of the phased-out offices who
may be qualified may apply for reappointment with the NCIP and may be given prior
rights in the filling up of the newly created positions of NCIP, subject to the
qualifications set by the Placement Committee: Provided, furthermore, That in the case
where an indigenous person and a non-indigenous person with similar qualifications
apply for the same position, priority shall be given to the former. Officers and employees
who are to be phased-out as a result of the merger of their offices shall be entitled to
gratuity a rate equivalent to one and a half (1 ½) months salary for every year of
continuous and satisfactory service rendered or the equivalent nearest fraction thereof
favorable to them on the basis of the highest salary received. If they are already entitled
to retirement or gratuity, they shall have the option to select either such retirement
benefits or the gratuity herein provided. Officers and employees who may be reinstated
shall refund such retirement benefits or gratuity received: Provided, finally, That
absorbed personnel must still meet the qualifications and standards set by the Civil
Service and the Placement Committee herein created.

SECTION 75.         Transition Period. — The ONCC/OSCC shall have a period of six (6)
months from the effectivity of this Act within which to wind up its affairs and to conduct
audit of its finances.

SECTION 76.         Transfer of Assets/Properties. — All real and personal properties

which are vested in, or belonging to, the merged offices as aforestated shall be
transferred to the NCIP without further need of conveyance, transfer or assignment and
shall be held for the same purpose as they were held by the former offices: Provided,
That all contracts, records and documents relating to the operations of the merged
offices shall be transferred to the NCIP. All agreements and contracts entered into by
the merged offices shall remain in full force and effect unless otherwise terminated,
modified or amended by the NCIP.

SECTION 77.         Placement Committee. — Subject to rules on government

reorganization, a Placement Committee shall be created by the NCIP, in coordination
with the Civil Service Commission, which shall assist in the judicious selection and
placement of personnel in order that the best qualified and most deserving persons
shall be appointed in the reorganized agency. The Placement Committee shall be
composed of seven (7) commissioners and an ICCs’/IPs’ representative from each of
the first and second level employees association in the Offices for Northern and
Southern Cultural Communities (ONCC/OSCC), nongovernment organizations (NGOs)
who have served the community for at least five (5) years and peoples organizations
(POs) with at least five (5) years of existence. They shall be guided by the criteria of
retention and appointment to be prepared by the consultative body and by the pertinent
provisions of the civil service law.

CHAPTER XIII

Final Provisions

SECTION 78.         Special Provision. — The City of Baguio shall remain to be governed
by its Charter and all lands proclaimed as part of its townsite reservation shall remain
as such until otherwise reclassified by appropriate legislation: Provided, That prior land
rights and titles recognized and/or acquired through any judicial, administrative or other
processes before the effectivity of this Act shall remain valid: Provided, further, That this
provision shall not apply to any territory which becomes part of the City of Baguio after
the effectivity of this Act.

SECTION 79.         Appropriations. — The amount necessary to finance the initial

implementation of this Act shall be charged against the current year’s appropriation of
the ONCC and the OSCC. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for its continued
implementation shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 80.         Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within sixty (60) days
immediately after appointment, the NCIP shall issue the necessary rules and
regulations, in consultation with the Committees on National Cultural Communities of
the House of Representatives and the Senate, for the effective implementation of this
Act.

SECTION 81.         Saving Clause. — This Act will not in any manner adversely affect the
rights and benefits of the ICCs/IPs under other conventions, recommendations,
international treaties, national laws, awards, customs and agreements.

SECTION 82.         Separability Clause. — In case any provision of this Act or any portion
thereof is declared unconstitutional by a competent court, other provisions shall not be
affected thereby.
SECTION 83.         Repealing Clause. — Presidential Decree No. 410, Executive Order
Nos. 122-B and 122-C, and all other laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or parts
thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 84.         Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days upon its
publication in the Official Gazette or in any two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved: October 29, 1997

Unit 3. Land Use Policies

Cruz and Europa v. Secretary of DENR
G.R. No. 135385, December 06, 2000
 
Petitioners Isagani Cruz and Cesar Europa brought this suit for prohibition and
mandamus as citizens and taxpayers, assailing the constitutionality of certain provisions
of IPRA and its IRR.
               *Direct the court to stop the implementation of IPRA.
Implementing arm of IPRA – National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP);
government agency
Main Contention: IPRA is unconstitutional on the ground that it grants ownership over
natural resources to indigenous peoples and prays that the petition be granted in part.
Defense: Commission on Human Rights (CHR) agree with the NCIP and Flavier, et al.
that IPRA is consistent with the Constitution and pray that the petition for prohibition and
mandamus be dismissed.
ISSUE:
Whether IPRA is constitutional.
HELD:
Yes, IPRA is constitutional.
 
SEPARATE OPINION OF JUSTICE PUNO:
IPRA was enacted by Congress not only to fulfill the constitutional mandate of
protecting the indigenous cultural communities' right to their ancestral land but more
importantly, to correct a grave historical injustice to our indigenous people.
 
HISTORY:
The capacity of the State to own or acquire property is the state's power of dominium
The "Regalian Doctrine" or jura regalia is a Western legal concept that was first
introduced by the Spaniards into the country through the Laws of the Indies and
the Royal Cedulas.
                              Laws of the Indies (1st paragraph) :
"We, having acquired full sovereignty over the Indies, and all lands, territories, and
possessions not heretofore ceded away by our royal predecessors (ROYAL GRANT), or
by us, or in our name, still pertaining to the royal crown and patrimony, it is our will that
all lands which are held without proper and true deeds of grant be restored to us as they
belong to us, in order that after reserving before all what to us or to our viceroys,
audiencias, and governors may seem necessary for public squares, ways, pastures,
and commons in those places which are peopled, taking into consideration not only their
present condition (PUBLIC PLACES AND IMMINENT DOMAIN), but also their future
and their probable increase, and after distributing to the natives what may be necessary
for tillage and pasturage (AGRICULTURAL LAND), confirming them in what they now
have and giving them more if necessary, all the rest of said lands may remain free and
unencumbered for us to dispose of as we may wish.
Xxx
 
(example: if a person dies without any heir, the estate goes back to the state)
The Philippines passed to Spain by virtue of "discovery" and conquest. Consequently,
all lands became the exclusive patrimony and dominion of the Spanish Crown.  The
Spanish Government took charge of distributing the lands by issuing royal grants and
concessions to Spaniards, both military and civilian.Private land titles could only be
acquired from the government either by purchase or by the various modes of land grant
from the Crown.
The Laws of the Indies were followed by the Ley Hipotecaria, or the Mortgage Law of
1893. Systematic registration of titles and deeds as well as possessory claims (e.g.
claim that you should own the land pecause you have been farming there ever since).
This was the last Spanish land law promulgated in the Philippines.  It required the
"adjustment" or registration of all agricultural lands, otherwise the lands shall revert to
the state.
 
Regalian Doctrine simply means:
All natural wealth – agricultural, forest, timber and mineral lands of the Public
Domain and all other natural resources belong to the State.
 
Four years later, by the Treaty of Paris of December 10, 1898, Spain ceded to the
government of the United States all rights, interests and claims over the national
territory of the Philippine Islands.  In 1903, the United States colonial government,
through the Philippine Commission, passed Act No. 926, the first Public Land Act.
PUBLIC LAND ACT – Americans pursued the policy of the Spanish Government,
requiring settlers on the public lands to obtain title deeds therefor from the State,
Torrens System - Grants of public land were brought under the operation of the
Torrens system under Act 496, or the Land Registration Law of 1903. lmost a
verbatim copy of the Massachussetts Land Registration Act of 1898. The Torrens
system requires that the government issue an official certificate of title attesting to the
fact that the person named is the owner of the property described therein, subject to
such liens and encumbrances as thereon noted or the law warrants or reserves. The
certificate of title is indefeasible and imprescriptible and all claims to the parcel of land
are quieted upon issuance of said certificate.  This system highly facilitates land
conveyance and negotiation.
1935 Constitution - One of the fixed and dominating objectives of the 1935
Constitutional Convention was the nationalization and conservation of the natural
resources of the country. There was an overwhelming sentiment in the Convention
in favor of the principle of state ownership of natural resources and the adoption
of the Regalian doctrine.
"Sec. 1. All agricultural, timber, and mineral lands of the public domain, waters,
minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy,
and other natural resources of the Philippines belong to the State…
1973 Constitution - reiterated the Regalian doctrine:
"Sec. 8. All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum and
other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, wildlife, and other
natural resources of the Philippines belong to the State. 
Note: Lands of the public domain are classified into agricultural, forest or timber,
mineral lands and national parks.
               1987 Constitution reaffirmed the Regalian doctrine:
"Sec. 2. All lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and
other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber,
wildlife, flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State
Note: flora and fauna are collection of plant and animal specifies in a given geographic
location.
Simply stated, all lands of the public domain as well as all natural
resources enumerated therein, whether on public or private land, belong to the
State.  It is this concept of State ownership that petitioners claim is being violated
by the IPRA.
IPRA
The IPRA recognizes the existence of the indigenous cultural communities
or indigenous peoples (ICCs/IPs) as a distinct sector in Philippine society.  It grants
these people the ownership and possession of their ancestral domains and
ancestral lands, and defines the extent of these lands and domains.  The
ownership given is the indigenous concept of ownership under customary law
which traces its origin to native title.

Other rights are also granted the ICCs/IPs, and these are:
- the right to develop lands and natural resources;
- the right to stay in the territories;
- the right in case of displacement;
- the right to safe and clean air and water;
- the right to claim parts of reservations;
- the right to resolve conflict;
- the right to ancestral lands which include

1. the right to transfer land/property to/among members of the same ICCs/IPs, subject to
customary laws and traditions of the community concerned;

2. the right to redemption for a period not exceeding 15 years from date of transfer, if the
transfer is to a non-member of the ICC/IP and is tainted by vitiated consent of the ICC/IP, or
if the transfer is for an unconscionable consideration.

 
Within their ancestral domains and ancestral lands, the ICCs/IPs are given the right to
self-governance and empowerment, social justice and human rights, the right to
preserve and protect their culture, traditions, institutions and community intellectual
rights, and the right to develop their own sciences and technologies.
Indigenous peoples (IPs) and indigenous cultural communities (ICCs) possess other
valuable resources, specifically their indigenous knowledge systems and practices
(IKSP) consisting of accumulation of age-old traditional cultural methods and beliefs in
medicine, genetic resources, ecology, art and language, among others. IPRA
acknowledges that IPs and the ICCs have the right to special measures to control,
develop and protect their sciences, technologies and cultural manifestations, including
their IKSP. Main thrust is to encourage tradition-based creations and innovations.
Community Intellectual Rights:

 the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as but not limited to,
archaeological and historical sites, artefacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies, visual and
performing arts, and literature as well as religious and spiritual properties;
 science and technology including, but not limited to, human and other genetic resources,
seeds, medicine, health practices, vital medicinal plants, animals and minerals, indigenous
knowledge systems and practices, resource management systems, agricultural
technologies, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, designs,
scientific discoveries; and
 language, script, histories, oral traditions and teaching and learning systems.

 
Unlike conventional intellectual property rights such as patents, copyrights and
trademarks, which are registered to a specific entity or individual, the intellectual
properties of IPs and ICCs are communally owned. Individuals can only act as
custodians of the IKSPs, but the intellectual property rights are collectively owned by the
ICCs.  (ISSUE ON APO WHANG-OD AND NAS ACADEMY- Kalinga art of tattooing)
“If the author of an artistic and literary creation or the inventor of an invention cannot be
identified, but an indigenous cultural community is recognised to have created and
owned the artistic or literary work, or invention, this community is entitled to the
collective management of their intellectual property rights over these works…
(Reference:https://www.inhousecommunity.com/article/philippines-protecting-
indigenous-knowledge-systems-practices-intellectual-property-rights-registration/)
Disputes involving ICCs/IPs are to be resolved under customary laws and
practices. When still unresolved, the matter may be brought to the NCIP, which is
granted quasi-judicial powers. The NCIP's decisions may be appealed to the Court of
Appeals by a petition for review.
 
 
 
 
 
 
IP’s Concept of Land

Indigenous peoples share distinctive traits that set them apart from the Filipino
mainstream. They are non-Christians.  They live in less accessible, marginal, mostly
upland areas.  They have a system of self-government not dependent upon the laws of
the central administration of the Republic of the Philippines.  They follow ways of life
and customs that are perceived as different from those of the rest of the population.
Land is the central element of the indigenous peoples' existence.  There is no
traditional concept of permanent, individual, land ownership.
Among the Igorots, ownership of land more accurately applies to the tribal right to use
the land or to territorial control.  The people are the secondary owners or stewards of
the land and that if a member of the tribe ceases to work, he loses his claim of
ownership, and the land reverts to the beings of the spirit world who are its true and
primary owners. Under the concept of "trusteeship," the right to possess the land does
not only belong to the present generation but the future ones as well.
Customary law on land rests on the traditional belief that no one owns the land except
the gods and spirits, and that those who work the land are its mere
stewards. Customary law has a strong preference for communal ownership, which
could either be ownership by a group of individuals or families who are related by blood
or by marriage,or ownership by residents of the same locality who may not be related by
blood or marriage. The system of communal ownership under customary laws draws its
meaning from the subsistence and highly collectivized mode of economic production.  
The Kalingas, for instance, who are engaged in team occupation like hunting, foraging
for forest products, and swidden farming found it natural that forest areas, swidden
farms, orchards, pasture and burial grounds should be communally-owned.For the
Kalingas, everybody has a common right to a common economic base.  Thus, as a rule,
rights and obligations to the land are shared in common.
Although highly bent on communal ownership, customary law on land also
sanctions individual ownership.  The residential lots and terrace rice farms are
governed by a limited system of individual ownership.  It is limited because while the
individual owner has the right to use and dispose of the property, he does not possess
all the rights of an exclusive and full owner as defined under our Civil Code.
Under Kalinga customary law, the alienation of individually-owned land is strongly
discouraged except in marriage and succession and except to meet sudden financial
needs due to sickness, death in the family, or loss of crops
Land titles do not exist in the indigenous peoples' economic and social system. 
The concept of individual land ownership under the civil law is alien to them. 
Inherently colonial in origin, our national land laws and governmental policies
frown upon indigenous claims to ancestral lands.  Communal ownership is
looked upon as inferior, if not inexistent.
 
 
 
 
 
On the question of constitutionality

1. Ancestral Domains and Ancestral Lands are the Private Property of Indigenous
Peoples and Do Not Constitute Part of the Land of the Public Domain.

The IPRA grants to ICCs/IPs a distinct kind of ownership over ancestral domains
and ancestral lands.  Ancestral lands are not the same as ancestral domains.
Ancestral domains are all areas belonging to ICCs/IPs 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 until 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 with government and/or private individuals or corporations.  Ancestral
domains comprise lands, inland waters, coastal areas, and natural resources
therein and includes ancestral lands, forests, pasture, residential, agricultural,
and other lands individually owned whether alienable or not, hunting grounds,
burial grounds, worship areas, bodies of water, mineral and other natural
resources.  They also include 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 are lands held by the ICCs/IPs under the same conditions as ancestral
domains except that these are limited to lands and that these lands are not merely
occupied and possessed but are also utilized by the ICCs/IPs under claims of individual
or traditional group ownership.  These lands include but are not limited to residential
lots, rice terraces or paddies, private forests, swidden farms and tree lots.

1. Right to Ancestral Domains and Ancestral Lands:  How Acquired

The rights of the ICCs/IPs to their ancestral domains and ancestral lands may be acquired
in two modes:  

(1) by native title over both ancestral lands and domains; or 

(2) by torrens title under the Public Land Act and the Land Registration Act with
respect to ancestral lands only.
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."
Formal recognition, when solicited by ICCs/IPs concerned, shall be embodied in a
Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT). Through NCIP.
The IPRA categorically declares ancestral lands and domains held by native title
as never to have been public land.  Domains and lands held under native title are,
therefore, indisputably presumed to have never been public lands and are private.
Carino Doctrine - 903, Don Mateo Cariño, an Ibaloi, sought to register with the land
registration court 146 hectares of land in Baguio Municipality, Benguet Province. He
claimed that this land had been possessed and occupied by his ancestors since time
immemorial; inherited the land in accordance with Igorot custom. In 1901, Cariño
obtained a possessory title to the land under the Spanish Mortgage Law. The North
American colonial government, however, ignored his possessory title and built a public
road on the land prompting him to seek a Torrens title to his property in the land
registration court.  
Issue: Can the U.S. and Phil Govt invoke the regalian doctrine (public land).
Held: No. It is true that Spain, in its earlier decrees, embodied the universal feudal
theory that all lands were held from the Crown. the United States may assert, as Spain
asserted, absolute power. But it does not follow that, as against the inhabitants of the
Philippines, the United States asserts that Spain had such power.  U.S. Supreme Court
noted that it need not accept Spanish doctrines. Ultimately, the matter had to be
decided under U.S. law. Cariño decision largely rested on the North American
constitutionalist's concept of "due process" as well as the pronounced policy "to do
justice to the natives." It was based on the strong mandate extended to the Islands via
the Philippine Bill of 1902 that "No law shall be enacted in said islands which shall
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or deny to any
person therein the equal protection of the laws." 
The court thus laid down the presumption of a certain title held
(1) as far back as testimony or memory went, and
(2) under a claim of private ownership.  Land held by this title is presumed to "never
have been public land."
Thus, the court ruled in favor of Cariño and ordered the registration of the 148
hectares in Baguio Municipality in his name.