through the concerned Regional Office, a culture-sensitive Environmental Conservation and
Protection Program (ECPP) stating in detail the environmental impact of such activities or
projects proposed, control and rehabilitation measures and financial resource allocations
therefor, implementation schedules, compliance guarantees, and evaluation and monitoring
schemes.
Within twenty (20) working days from receipt thereof, the concerned Regional Office shall
conduct preliminary evaluation of the ECPP. Based on its findings, the Regional Office may
order the ECPP to be revised and/or additional requirements may be imposed and/or other
documents may be required. The concerned Regional office shall endorse the ECPP, with
recommendations, to the Commission.
Detailed guidelines for the preparation and implementation of the ECPPs shall be prescribed
by the Commission based on principles underlying the ICCs/IPs framework for sustainable
development of the ancestral domains and nationally-defined environmental standards.
Section 7. Right to Claim Parts of Reservations. The dispossession of indigenous
peoples from their ancestral domains/lands by operation of law, executive fiat or legislative action
constitute a violation of the constitutional right to be free from the arbitrary deprivation of
property. As such, ICCs/IPs have the right to claim ancestral domains, or parts thereof, which
have been reserved for various purposes.
a)
Procedure for Reclaiming Ancestral Domains or Parts thereof Proclaimed as
Reservations.
(1) For purposes of the enforcement of this right, the NCIP shall review all existing
Executive Orders, Administrative Orders, Presidential Proclamations covering
reservations within ancestral domains to determine the actual use thereof.
(2) Thereafter, it shall take appropriate steps to cause the dis-establishment of the
reservation or the segregation and reconveyance of ancestral domains or portions
thereof to the concerned ICCs/IPs.
b) Conditions for Continued Use of Ancestral Domains as Part of Reservations. ICCs/IPs
communities whose ancestral domains or portions thereof continue to be used as part of
reservations, have the right to negotiate the terms and conditions thereof in a Memorandum of
Agreement. The ICC/IP community may negotiate for such use, including the grant of
benefits such as, but not limited to, preferential use of facilities in the area and free access to
basic services being dispensed therefrom, through appropriate IP desks to be established by
the administrator of the reservation.
Section 8. Right to Resolve Conflicts According to Customary Laws. All conflicts
pertaining to property rights, claims and ownership, hereditary succession and settlement of land
disputes within ancestral domains/ lands shall be resolved in accordance with the customary laws,
traditions and practices of the ICCs/IPs in the area where the conflict arises.
If the conflict between or among ICCs/IPs is not resolved, through such customary laws,
traditions and practices, the Council of Elders/Leaders who participated in the attempt to settle
the dispute shall certify that the same has not been resolved. Such certification shall be a
condition precedent for the filing of the complaint with the NCIP, through its Regional Offices
for adjudication.
Decisions of the NCIP may be brought on Appeal to the Court of Appeals by way of a
Petition for Review.
Part III. Rights of the ICCs/IPs to Their Ancestral Lands
Section 1. Right to Transfer Land or Property. The various indigenous modes of
acquisition and transfer of property between and among members of the ICCs/IPs shall be
recognized as legal, valid and enforceable.
Page
9