Held
No, the opinion of the DOE official is not tenable because Republic Act No. 8371 (Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997) explicitly recognizes ancestral domains to include coastal areas and bodies of water traditionally occupied or used by Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs), and any government project affecting such areas requires prior certification from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) with free and prior informed consent, under Section 3(a), Section 7, and Section 59 of RA 8371.
Explanation
The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997 (RA 8371) defines ancestral domains broadly to include not only lands but also inland waters, coastal areas, and natural resources therein that have been traditionally occupied or used by ICCs/IPs since time immemorial. This means that ancestral domain claims can extend to coastal waters traditionally used for fishing or other subsistence activities. The law recognizes the rights of ICCs/IPs to ownership and possession of these areas, including the right to develop, control, and use the lands and resources, and to negotiate terms for exploration or development projects affecting their domains.
The law requires that no government agency may issue concessions, licenses, or enter into agreements affecting ancestral domains without prior certification from the NCIP, which must be based on a field investigation and obtained with the free and prior informed consent of the ICCs/IPs concerned. This certification process ensures that the rights of ICCs/IPs are respected and protected before any project proceeds.
The fact that the ancestral domain claim over the coastal waters has not yet been formally delineated or that no Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) has been issued does not negate the claim or the rights of the ICCs/IPs. The law explicitly states that the issuance of a CADT is a formal recognition of rights already existing by virtue of traditional occupation and possession. Therefore, the DOE's view that RA 8371 primarily concerns land areas and that the water claim is doubtful is incorrect.
Furthermore, the proposal to negotiate with the IP group to limit their claim to land areas only is problematic because it disregards the legal recognition of ancestral domains as including coastal waters and bodies of water traditionally used by the IPs. Such a negotiation could undermine the IPs' rights protected by law and the constitutional mandate to protect indigenous peoples' ancestral domains.
Application to the facts
In this case, the Indigenous Peoples group in Zambales claims that the coastal waters are part of their ancestral domain due to traditional fishing activities. Under RA 8371, this claim is valid because ancestral domains include coastal areas and bodies of water traditionally occupied or used by ICCs/IPs. The DOE's opinion that the claim is doubtful because the law primarily concerns land is incorrect, as the law explicitly includes coastal waters within ancestral domains.
Since the ancestral domain claim overlaps with the area where the DOE intends to conduct hydrogen exploration surveys, the DOE must secure prior certification from the NCIP that the area does not overlap with any ancestral domain or obtain the free and prior informed consent of the IPs before proceeding. The absence of formal delineation or a CADT does not invalidate the claim or the need for consultation and certification.
The DOE official's proposal to negotiate with the IP group to limit their claim to land areas only and refrain from conducting surveys in the coastal waters is not legally sound. Such a negotiation would effectively ask the IPs to waive their rights recognized by law over coastal waters, which is not permissible without following the proper legal processes, including free and prior informed consent and NCIP certification. The DOE must respect the IPs' rights and comply with the legal requirements before undertaking any exploration activities in the area.
- a constitutional provision is among the sources and controls over any conflicting statute
"The rights of ownership and possession of ICCs/IPs t their ancestral domains shall be recognized and protected. Such rights shall include: a. Rights 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 th…
"The State shall protect the rights of subsistence fishermen, especially of local communities, to the preferential use of the communal marine and fishing resources, both inland and offshore. It shall provide support to such fishermen through appropriate technology and research, adequate financial, production, and marketing assistance, and other services. The State shall also protect, develop, and conserve such resources. The protection shall extend to offshore fishing grounds of subsistence fishermen against foreign intrusion. Fishworkers shall receive a just share from their labor in the utilization of marine an…
"all department 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 certificate shall only be issued after a field-based investigation is conducted by the Ancestral Domain Office of the area concerned: Provided, That no certificate shall be issued by the NCIP without the free and prior informed and written consent of the ICCs/IPs concerned: Provided, further, That…
"The State, subject to the provisions of this Constitution and national development policies and programs, shall protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to their ancestral lands to ensure their economic, social, and cultural well-being."
Section 7(a) of the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997 provides that the rights of ownership and possession of ICCs/IPs to their ancestral domains shall be recognized and protected, including the right to claim ownership over lands and bodies of water traditionally and actually occupied by ICCs/IPs.
"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, themselves or through their ancestors, communally or individually since time immemorial..."
Section 59 of the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997 states that all departments and other governmental agencies are 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, and that such certificate shall only be issued after a field-based investigation and with the free and prior informed and written consent of the ICCs/IPs concerned.
Laws retrieved
Everything retrieval surfaced, not only what the answer relied on. Read the ones it quotes.
- Section 5, The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines
- Section 7, The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997
- Section 51, The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997
- Section 52, The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997
- Section 55, The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997
- Section 7, The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines
- Section 59, The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997
- Section 62, The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997
- Section 58, The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997
- Section 3, The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997
"Section 3 (a) of RA 8371 describes ancestral domains as "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 xxx." On the other hand, Section 56 of the same law provides: "Sec. 56. Certification Precondition. - _All departments and other governmental agencies shall henceforth be strictly enjoined from issuing, renewing or granting any concession, license or lease,…
"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 cons…
Gozun v. Picop Resources (G.R. No. 162243, 2006) paraphrased: The Supreme Court recognized that Section 3(a) of RA 8371 defines ancestral domains to include lands, inland waters, coastal areas, and natural resources therein, held under a claim of ownership by ICCs/IPs since time immemorial, and that the issuance of a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title is merely a formal recognition of rights already existing by virtue of traditional occupation and possession.
Hinupas v. People of the Philippines (G.R. No. 224469, 2021) paraphrased: The Supreme Court affirmed that the rights of ownership and possession of ICCs/IPs to their ancestral domains include the right to claim ownership over lands and bodies of water traditionally and actually occupied, and the right to negotiate terms for the exploration of natural resources, subject to certain limitations consistent with the communal and ongoing nature of the IPs' attachment to the ancestral domain.
Cases retrieved
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