Cruz vs DENR, G.R. No.

135385,
December 6, 2000
Isagani Cruz v. Dept. of Energy and Natural Resources,
G.R. No. 135385, December 6, 2000
FACTS: Cruz, a noted constitutionalist, assailed the validity of the RA 8371
or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act on the ground that the law amount to
an unlawful deprivation of the States ownership over lands of the public
domain as well as minerals and other natural resources therein, in violation
of the regalian doctrine embodied in Section 2, Article XII of the
Constitution. The IPRA law basically enumerates the rights of the
indigenous peoples over ancestral domains which may include natural
resources. Cruz et al content that, by providing for an all-encompassing
definition of ancestral domains and ancestral lands which might even
include private lands found within said areas, Sections 3(a) and 3(b) of said
law violate the rights of private landowners.

ISSUE: Whether or not the IPRA law is unconstitutional.

HELD: The SC deliberated upon the matter. After deliberation they voted
and reached a 7-7 vote. They deliberated again and the same result
transpired. Since there was no majority vote, Cruzs petition was dismissed
and the IPRA law was sustained. Hence, ancestral domains may include
natural resources somehow against the regalian doctrine.