INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW

Understanding the word Indigenous PeoplesThe most fruitful way is to identify, rather than define indigenous peoples.
Basis of understanding:

Self- identification as indigenous peoples at the individual level and accepted by

the community as their member;
Historical continuity with pre-colonial and/or pre-settler societies;
Strong link to territories and surrounding natural resources;
Distinct social, economic or political systems;
Distinct language, culture and beliefs;
Form non-dominant groups of society;
Resolve to maintain and reproduce their ancestral environments and systems as
distinctive peoples and communities. - United Nations Permanent Forum
on Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which, having a

historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their
territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the societies now
prevailing on those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant
sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future
generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their
continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social
institutions and legal system.- Netherlands Center for Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples refer to a group of people
or homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by other, 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 customs, tradition and other distinctive cultural traits, or who have, through
resistance to political, social and cultural inroads of colonization, non-indigenous
religions and culture, 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 domainsIndigenous Peopls Rights Act of 1997.
CULTURE AND KNOWLEDGE
Indigenous peoples are the holders of unique languages, knowledge systems and
beliefs and possess invaluable knowledge of practices for the sustainable management of
natural resources. They have a special relation to and use of their traditional land. Their
ancestral land has a fundamental importance for their collective physical and cultural
survival as peoples. Indigenous peoples hold their own diverse concepts of development,
based on their traditional values, visions, needs and priorities.

POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
Indigenous peoples often have much in common with other neglected segments
of societies, i.e. lack of political representation and participation, economic
marginalization and poverty, lack of access to social services and discrimination. Despite
their cultural differences, the diverse indigenous peoples share common problems also
related to the protection of their rights. They strive for recognition of their identities,
their ways of life and their right to traditional lands, territories and natural resources.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
(Based on Ethnic Groups)

NATIONAL LEGISLATIONS ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

The Philippine Constitution of 1987 explicitly recognizes the rights of indigenous
cultural communities. As stated in the Constitution Section 22, Article II:
The State recognizes and promotes the rights of indigenous cultural communities
within the framework of national unity and development.
Section 5, Article XII: The State, subject to provisions of this Constitution and national
development policies and programs shall protect the rights of the indigenous cultural
communities to their ancestral lands to ensure their economic, social and cultural wellbeing. The Congress may provide for the applicability of customary laws governing
property rights or relations in determining the ownership and extent of ancestral
domain.

Section 15, Article X: There shall be created autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao
and the Cordilleras consisting of provinces, cities, municipalities and geographical areas
sharing common and distinctive historical and cultural heritage, economic and social
structures, and other relevant characteristics within the framework of this Constitution.
Section 18, Article X: The Congress shall enact an organic act for each autonomous
region with the assistance and participation of the regional consultative commission.
The organic act shall define the basic structure of government for the region consisting
of the executive department and legislative assembly. The organic acts shall likewise
provide for special courts with personal, family and property law jurisdiction consistent
with the provisions of this Constitution and national laws.
Indigenous Peoples Rights Act The IPRA of 1997 AN ACT TO RECOGNIZE, PROTECT
AND
PROMOTE
THE
RIGHTS
OF
INDIGENOUS
CULTURAL
COMMUNITIES/INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, CREATING A NATIONAL COMMISSION
OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, ESTABLISHING IMPLEMENTING MECHANISMS,
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Sources:
1)
2)
3)
4)

IPRA of 1997
1987 Philippine Constitution;
http://www.un.org, November 20, 2015
Country Technical Notes on Indigenous Peoples Issues, Jaqueline Cario,
November 2012
5) http://indigenouspeoples.nl, November 20, 2015

Throughout Philippine history, the political attitude towards indigenous peoples and
their rights have undergone many changes. During the colonial period, from 1521,
indigenous peoples who were not assimilated into Christianity were then called and
identified as the non-Christian or savage tribes, and thus are the less enlightened
minorities of our population.

Since the declaration of Philippine independence in 1898, it was only in the 1973
Constitution where indigenous peoples found their place in the countrys national
framework. The provision in the Philippine Constitution was intended to authorize
special treatment of those Filipinos comprising the cultural minorities in the country.
The clear intent, in the context of the Constitution viewed in its entirety, is to create an
exception to uniformity of treatment under law mandated under the standard of equal
protection of the laws. The policy of the Government was to integrate into the
mainstream of Philippine society certain ethnic groups who seek full integration into the
larger community, and at the same time protect the rights of those who wish to preserve
their original lifeways beside that larger community.
The ratification of the 1987 Constitution saw the change in government policy from one
of integration to recognition of indigenous peoples rights. As a matter of policy, the
State recognizes and promotes the rights of indigenous cultural communities within the
framework of national unity and development.To this end, the State shall protect the
rights of indigenous cultural communities to their ancestral lands to ensure their
economic, social and cultural well-being.[8] The recognition of IP rights are, however,
subject to national development policies and programs.

One policy that the Philippines had not changed since its 1935 Constitution is the socalled Regalian Doctrine. Under this doctrine, all lands of the public domains, and
natural resources are owned by the State. With the exception of agricultural lands, all
other natural resources shall not be alienated. The exploration, development, and
utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the
State. This legal doctrine recalls the time when all titles were valid only when it could be
shown that it originated from a grant or sale from the Crown, or its conceptual heir, the
State. Thus, even in those rare cases where indigenous peoples communities have
managed to secure documents of title to their lands, they do not, by virtue of that title
acquire ownership or control of the natural resources found within the titled land. This
problem is further complicated by the fact that the governments awards of resource
rights through licenses, leases or permits, or current production sharing, joint-venture
or co-production agreements are given to persons, natural or juridical, who are not
residents of the area, thereby setting the stage for social conflict at the community level.
The declaration of ownership of the State of all lands of the public domain and all
natural resources, from the 1935 to the 1987 Constitution could not mean absolute
ownership simply by operation of law, as this would place such State in direct
contradiction to the guarantee of due process as against actual owners, as interpreted in
Cario. Thus, despite ancestral domains being now understood as including natural
resources, the application of the laws and the interpretation of the 1987 Constitution
have limited the indigenous peoples ownership of these natural resources to mere
preferential rights to exploit, develop and use.

Thus, the United States Supreme Court decision in the case of Cario v. Insular
Government in 1909 was a breakthrough in the recognition of indigenous peoples rights
to their ancestral domains. The Cario doctrine stated that when, as far back as
testimony or memory goes, the land has been held by individuals under a claim of
private ownership, it will be presumed to have been held in the same way from before
the Spanish conquest, and never to have been public land. Yet, despite this
pronouncement, the struggle to gain recognition and respect for indigenous peoples
rights has been long and arduous and sometimes, even fatal.

To date, there is no accurate count of the number of the indigenous peoples in the
Philippines. The standard percentage that is being used to estimate is 10% of the overall population. A possible basis for this 10% is the census of 1915 conducted by the US
colonial government, which was published in 1916. In this document, the counts of the
population described as tribos independientes infieles and the like constituted
around 10% of the total population in the Philippines at that time.
The government uses pecentage higher than 10% (13%-15%), though there is no clear
basis of this percentaging as well. This is a clear indication of the level of serious
interest the government has in identifying the Indigenous Peoples, and the lack of
programmatic approach in identifying the various forms of discrimination they
experience the lack of basic services and appropriate economic development projects,
the overlapping of almost two-thirds of extractive projects with ancestral territories, and
the state of poverty of indigenous communities. Indigenous peoples are also victims of
continuous and systematic human rights violations, including community displacement,
torture and extrajudicial killings.
Over generations, the indigenous peoples have been engaged in various forms of
struggles organizing into community organizations, to national formations
representing different indigenous communities; there were groups who were part of the
armed struggle, there were intense international solidarity work, and there were those

who engaged the government and got involved in policy advocacy work. There were
groups, the Indigenous Peoples groups and the advocates, who were strategically
involved in all of these forms of struggle, at different levels and intensity.
The struggle to have a law that recognized indigenous peoples rights to their lands was
not an easy one. At first, the draft law that was submitted to Congress sought to remove
from the public and private commercial domain the lands of indigenous peoples. At that
time, different indigenous organizations were consulted. The dictator Marcos was just
overthrown, and it was under the Presidency of Corazon Aquino when the draft law was
first submitted. While the draft was still pending, an administrative order was issued by
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that recognized claims by
communities, and thus, their territories were delineated from other lands.
INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS
The Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples provide the international framework for the recognition of
indigenous peoples rights. In addition, the Philippines is a signatory to numerous
international conventions and declarations that are relevant for indigenous peoples.
Among these are the eight core international treaties on human rights, including:
1. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR-OP1), which is administered by the Human Rights Committee
The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR-OP2), aimed at the abolition of the death penalty
2. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
3. International Convention on the Abolition of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
(ICERD)
4. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW)
- The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW-OP)
5. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
- The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRCOP-AC) on the involvement of children in armed conflict
- The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC-OPOC) on the sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography
6. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment (CAT)
7. International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members
of their Families (CMW)
8. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities