04/02/2020
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attempt to settle the dispute that the same has not been resolved.[13]
In addition, NCIP Administrative Circular No. 1-03 dated April 9, 2003, known as the
Rules on Pleadings, Practice and Procedure Before the NCIP, reiterates the
jurisdiction of the NCIP over claims and disputes involving ancestral lands and
enumerates the actions that may be brought before the commission. Sec. 5, Rule III
thereof provides:
Sec. 5. Jurisdiction of the NCIP.--The NCIP through its Regional Hearing
Offices shall exercise jurisdiction over all claims and disputes involving
rights of ICCs/IPs and all cases pertaining to the implementation,
enforcement, and interpretation of R.A. 8371, including but not limited to
the following:
(1) Original and Exclusive Jurisdiction of the Regional Hearing Office
(RHO):
a. Cases involving disputes and controversies over ancestral
lands/domains of ICCs/IPs;
b. Cases involving violations of the requirement of free and prior and
informed consent of ICCs/IPs;
c. Actions for enforcement of decisions of ICCs/IPs involving violations
of customary laws or desecration of ceremonial sites, sacred places,
or rituals;
d. Actions for redemption/reconveyance under Section 8(b) of R.A.
8371; and
e. Such other cases analogous to the foregoing.
(2) Original Jurisdiction of the Regional Hearing Officer:
a. Cases affecting property rights, claims of ownership, hereditary
succession, and settlement of land disputes, between and among
ICCs/IPs that have not been settled under customary laws; and
b. Actions for damages arising out of any violation of Republic Act No.
8371.
(3) Exclusive and Original Jurisdiction of the Commission:
a. Petition for cancellation of Certificate of Ancestral Domain
Titles/Certificate of Ancestral Land Titles (CADTs/CALTs) alleged to
have been fraudulently acquired by, and issued to, any person or
community as provided for under Section 54 of R.A. 8371. Provided
that such action is filed within one (1) year from the date of
registration.
In order to determine whether the NCIP has jurisdiction over the dispute in
accordance with the foregoing provisions, it is necessary to resolve, on the basis of
the allegations in their petition, whether private respondents are members of
ICCs/IPs. In their petition[14] filed before the NCIP, private respondents, members of
the Ibaloi tribe who first settled in Baguio City, were asserting ownership of portions
of the Busol Forest Reservation which they claim to be their ancestral lands.
Correctly denominated as a petition for injunction as it sought to prevent the
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