Indigenous People's Rights Act and Indigenous Knowledge System and Practices

PIC WEBINAR PART 1
Sunday, 4 December 2022 1:32 pm
Indigenous People's Rights Act and

Indigenous Knowledge System and Practices
OCTOBER: Indigenous People's Month
11:38 -- Introduction of Speakers
"As advocates, we have to know the right information to be able to discern and to share the pride that runs into the
blood of the indigenous people." -- Chief Admin NCIP CAR
"The IPRA and IKSP Webinar for DedEd teachers is another juncture for DepEd to remind each teachers of their
mandate of ensuring quality, equitable, and culture based, basic education." -- DepEd CAR Regional Director, May
B. Eclar
Indigenous People's Rights Act

Historical Background
• There are several different groups of Indigenous Peoples. They aren't called "Indigenous People" but
rather "Indigenous Peoples" because this is an umbrella term referring to a diverse set of groups and not
just one, common group.
The Indigenous Peoples of CAR:

ABRA Tingguian/Itnegs
NOTE: The Kalingas are subdivided into several
APAYAO Isneg/Isnag sub-groups which claim a total of 46 traditional
Agta boundaries of ancestral domains, or what we
KALINGA Kalingas call bogis. These different groups of people are
MOUNTAIN Applai not necessarily similar, but can be very different
PROVINCE Kankana-ey from one another.
Bontoc
NOTE: The Balangaos are also subdivided into
Balangao
sub-groups that prefer to be called their distinct
Gaddang
names.
BENGUET Kankana-ey
Ibaloi NOTE: The Iowaks are the smallest group of IP in
Karao the Cordillera.
Iowak
Bago
IFUGAO Tuwali
Ayangan
Kalanguya
WHAT MADE THEM AN IP?
Dr. William Henry Scott was an American missionary who lived in the Cordillera as an Igorot.
"The grimmest result was subtler, more tragic and longer lasting - the creation of a distinction
between lowland and highland Filipinos which contrasted submission, conversion, and civilization on
the one hand, with independence, paganism, and savagery on the other." -- William Henry Scott
• The Spanish colonization divided the Filipinos into a minority and a majority, with the majority
being those who submitted to the reign of the Spanish, and the minority being those that stood their
ground and held on to their own culture.
The Historical Basis of the Indigenous

Peoples Rights Act
HISTORICAL FACTS about the First Philippines Inhabitants
• 40,000 years ago in Palawan

• 13,000 years ago came the Aetas
• 2,300 years ago came the Malays
• 10th Century came the Muslim Traders
• The Philippines already had a rich culture before the Spanish came. Magellan was not the
one who first discovered the Philippine Islands.
• Indigenous Peoples are not found only in the Philippines, but anywhere in the world where
there was colonization and anywhere in the world where development was neglected
because they live in far areas and are living their indigenous culture.
What is Historical Injustice?

A moral wrong committed in the past that has a lasting impact on the well being of
people living in the present
What was its face in the Cordillera Region?

1. Land Dispossession;
2. Differentiation -- disinformation and misconceptions;
discrimination; and
3. Under Development.
The IPRA is a product of the Indigenous People's struggles for their rights.
1. Land Dispossession
The Regalian Doctrine

Also known as the "Jure Regalia," the Reglian Doctrine is one of the majority factors that
contributed to the dispossession of land from the Indigenous Peoples. According to this
feudal principle, land ownership must be granted by the Spanish Crown or its successors,
the American Colonial Government, and thereafter, the Philippine Republic.
Torrens System of Land Registration

Land registration Act No. 496 of 1902
The Philippine Commission Act No. 178 of 1903

This law states that all unregistered lands will be considered as part of public domain of
owned by the government.
• The problem that arises from this is that not all Indigenous Peoples were educated about
this law and that this law contradicts their belief of a communal land, hence up to the
present time, you may only count by the hand how many CAR Ips have registered their
land as theirs.
• "How dare you say you own the land when the land outlives you? Only the race can say
they own the land because the race lives forever." -- Macli-ing Dulag
The Mining Law of 1905

A law that states that all lands that are unregistered and considered as part of the public
domain is legally open to be used as mining sites by American prospects.
• The lands that was affected by this law are the lands of indigenous peoples, hence up to
the present time, there are still conflict between the Indigenous Peoples and mining
companies
The Forestry Law

States that lands and mountains that are above and are 18% in slope cannot be titled to
ownership and therefor considered as public domain. Unfortunately, most lands that are in
Cordillera fall under this category.
The following are lands in the Philippines declared as public domain despite being inhabited by
Indigenous Peoples.
○ Mt. Pulag National Park
○ Mt. Data National Park
○ John Hay Military Reservation
○ PMA Military Reservation
○ Mineral Reservation
 The 1987 Constitution retained the Regalian Doctrine
2. Differentiation
Differentiation
In the past and even today, people still tend to look down on Indigenous Peoples thinking
that they are inferior.
• In 1925, a photograph of an Igorot with a tail was disseminated, and because of this,
Indigenous groups in the Philippines, specifically the Igorots were called names and were
discriminated and were labeled as different slurs by other people. On April 2, 1926, Keen
embarrassingly admitted that the photo was a hoax.
CHECK: https://factsfirstph-partners.rappler.com/5493/fact-check-igorots-do-not-have-tails/
• In his book Mother America - A Living Story of Democracy, Carlo P. Romulo states that:
"The fact remains that the Igorot is not Filipino and we are not related, and it hurts our
feelings to see him pictured in American newspapers under such captions as 'Typical Filipino
Tribesman.' This sparked protests among the Igorot students.
• Differentiation includes misinformation and discrimination against Indigenous Peoples that

arose at the start of colonization. Even as part of the majority, we are also victims of
differentiation making see our fellow countrymen in ways that are not true, resulting to
ignorance.
3. Underdevelopment
• For a long while, the government treated the Cordillera as a resource base that's supposed
to serve the Filipino Majority. Due to its richness in natural resources, numerous mining and
logging sites, as well as dams was built in this region.
• During the times when the Kalingas were negotiating with President Marcos to stop the
dams, President Marcos replied that they needed to sacrifice for the majority.
• Inhabitants of these lands that were claimed by corporations for commercial use were
forced to move away from their homes and live somewhere else.
Mining
○ 1903 Benguet Corporation
○ 1925 Itogon-Suyoc Mines
○ 1931 Atok Big Wedge
○ 1936 Lepanto;
○ logging of forests for mines and construction
Dams
○ 1956 Ambuklao Dam
○ 1960 Binga Dam
○ 1973 Chico River Dam Project
○ 1973 Cellophil Resources Corporation
The Present Time

• A number of Cordillerans also joined the NPA after being supported by them.
• "It is because we stood up against colonization that we became victims of social injustice.
• Nowadays, there are more policies and laws that help focus on Indigenous Peoples when it
comes to protecting their rights. The graph above shows the progress from the Spanish
Regime wherein the colonizers aimed to annihilate the IPs, to the era of the American
Republic that aimed to assimilate, up to the 1987 constitution when the IPRA or the
Indigenous Peoples Rights Act was established, aiming to protect their rights.

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PIC WEBINAR PART 1

Sunday, 4 December 2022 1:32 pm

Indigenous People's Rights Act and

Indigenous People's Rights Act

The Indigenous Peoples of CAR:

The Historical Basis of the Indigenous

• 40,000 years ago in Palawan

What is Historical Injustice?

What was its face in the Cordillera Region?

The Regalian Doctrine

Torrens System of Land Registration

The Philippine Commission Act No. 178 of 1903

The Mining Law of 1905

The Forestry Law

 The 1987 Constitution retained the Regalian Doctrine

• Differentiation includes misinformation and discrimination against Indigenous Peoples that

The Present Time

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