domain claims covering Coron Island, Barangay Bulalacao and the northern region of Turda, Buenavista, Malawig and the Tara islands, were endorsed to the Palawan Provincial Special Task Force on Ancestral Domains (PSTFAD), a multi-sectoral task force charged with processing, reviewing and validating ancestral domain claims. 6. Advocacy to PCSD, CENRO, PSTFAD, and the DENR The maps became important tools to introduce, locate, explain and convince government authorities and policy makers of the vital importance of the ancestral waters to the continued survival of Calamian Tagbanwa communities. The maps and their technical description were validated by the PSTFAD and were presented to the PCSD and the Coron Municipal Council. The maps and other basic documents of the CADC application were forwarded to the Regional Office for Region 4B, and consequently endorsed to the Office of the DENR Secretary. In all the hearings where the maps and other documents were presented, not a single opposition disputed the veracity of the evidence, that is, the historical accounts, place names, and the claim of the Calamian Tagbanwa that their communities have been occupying and using their homelands since time immemorial, was accepted without opposition. In response to the Saragpunta’s application, the Coron Sangguniang Bayan filed more than 14 municipal resolutions opposing the ancestral domain claim. The council cited the interest of the burgeoning tourism industry, large-scale commercial fishing, as well as the entry of the European Union (EU)-funded conservation program for the Integrated Protected Areas. The municipal council, however did not dispute the evidence that the Calamian Tagbanwa, have held time immemorial possession, occupation and utilization over these areas. Addressing the counter-claims filed to reduce the Coron Island application, then Undersecretary Antonio La Viña used the maps as bases for his decision to recommend the recognition of the Coron Island CADC, stating: “… After carefully sifting through all the evidence presented by TFCI in support of their claim, we find that they have not only established their time immemorial possession over the two islands being claimed, but also over the waters indicated in their community map. First, the claimant-group of indigenous peoples have been dependent heavily on their surrounding waters for the source of their livelihood, as the majority of them are traditional fisherfolk by profession. They still use the traditional methods of subsistence fishing using raditional tools, the practice of which dates back since time immemorial … The boundaries of their ancestral waters were not arbitrarily chosen, but were identified by reefs and were premised on their indispensable role in maintaining their indigenous concept of ecological balance … Lastly, they have also designated areas open to small scale and traditional fishing. The subject, Tagbanwa group, considers each particular area as being intertwined with each other, and as a whole, forms part of their ancestral domain. 13