Conclusions 1. The Tagbanwa initiative to secure their ancestral domains has put the Philippines on the world map, being the first “Ancestral Waters Claim” recognized by a Government. Its impact locally is just starting to be felt in various fields. Internationally, the Tagbanwa claim is seen as an inspiration to the indigenous communities in the Philippines including those from neighboring countries such as the indigenous peoples of Maluku in Indonesia and the aborigines of Torres Straits in Australia. Representative from these groups have gotten in touch with the Tagbanwa and have asked for information regarding the details of the ancestral domain claim.14 As soon as Government formally recognized the Coron Island claim, many indigenous communities went through the process of filing a claim for their ancestral land and waters. These include the Agta of Aurora Province, the Aeta of Bataan and the Ivatan of Batanes. All of these three CADT applications have since been approved and titles that cover a substantial portion of the oceans have been issued. 2. The approval of the Coron Island claim signals Government’s slow acceptance and understanding of the indigenous peoples traditional rights over the country’s natural resources and the positive role that indigenous peoples play in the protection and conservation of the nation’s aquatic resources. More importantly, the Coron lsland claim has a more significant value as it lies in the heart of Tagbanwa culture. As mentioned earlier the Island is seen as the central locus of activities and initiative both past and current. Thus the approval of the Coron CADT will have strong ramifications in the current and future management of the natural resources in the Calamianes group of islands. 3. The impact of the Coron claim shall also be seen on the way how Government will craft and implement administrative policies, including the rules and regulations regarding coastal resource management in areas where there are indigenous communities. Its effects on legal jurisprudence has yet to be seen although there is talk that certain affected quarters are mulling on the idea of challenging the CADT in court due to its policy overlaps with the Local Government Code and the Fisheries Code. 4. The success of Coron claim has given substance to the definition of “ancestral waters” as embodied in the new IPRA. The framers of the Law have had difficulty in concretely explaining the parameters of “ancestral waters,” as there were no existing models of such a claim. The Coron claim has provided a concrete example and a precedent for such a claim; not only on what it has resulted into but even to the extent of the process on how it was started and undertaken. 5. The existence of a positive legal and policy environment facilitated the necessary conditions for the Tagbanwa to secure the recognition of their ancestral domain. Department Administrative Order No. 02 of the DENR, the provisions on the recognition of Tribal Zones of the SEP law (RA 7611) and ultimately RA 8371 or IPRA provided the necessary legal backbone for the inclusion of ‘ancestral waters’ in the CADT claim of the Tagbanwa of Coron. However, these laws and policies still depended on the informed, if not sympathetic, interpretation of champions and progressive allies within Government who were in power at that particular time. Other national laws and policies on aquatic resources still pose a formidable challenge to realizing the full potential of the Tagbanwa ancestral waters claim. 18