The ICCs/IPs may, on their own initiative, likewise secure funds for such purposes from other local and foreign sources. Section 2. Restore Denuded Areas. The concerned ICCs/IPs, in collaboration with appropriate government agencies, shall restore denuded areas within their ancestral domains. In cases where the denudation of areas within the domains is caused by identified natural resource licensees, the ICCs/IPs through the NCIP shall make the proper representation to the appropriate government agency for the enforcement of the licensees’ obligation under the contract to reforest said areas. Should the licensee fail to implement a restoration program, the concerned government agency shall cause the execution of the bond and apply the same in favor of the ICCs/IPs, without prejudice to payment of compensation for damages to the ancestral domains’ eco-systems. Through their own POs, the concerned ICCs/IPs shall develop their own systems for undertaking reforestation projects under such terms and conditions that will ensure the application of IKSPs and customary laws, and the promotion and propagation of indigenous species as well as those of ecological importance. All such projects shall be considered an integral part of the domains and are therefore communally-owned by such ICCs/IPs. The management of all existing government reforestation projects within the ancestral domains shall be transferred to the NCIP through the execution of the appropriate instruments. The NCIP, in turn, shall execute Memoranda of Agreement with concerned ICCs/IPs for the implementation of the projects. Section 3 . Observe Laws. In maintaining ecological balance and restoring denuded areas within their ancestral domains, the ICCs/IPs shall adhere to the letter, spirit and intent of the Act. RULE IV: RIGHT TO SELF-GOVERNANCE AND EMPOWERMENT Part 1: Self-Governance and Political Leadership Systems. Section 1: Recognition of Authentic Leadership. In pursuance of the right to selfgovernance and self-determination, the ICCs/IPs, in coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, through the NCIP, shall formulate measures to ensure that : a) The socio-political structures, systems and institutions of ICCs/IPs are strengthened; b) The indigenous structures, systems, and institutions are not supplanted by other forms of nonindigenous governance; and/ or c) Mechanisms that allow the interfacing of indigenous systems of governance with the national systems are established. Section 2. Authentication of Indigenous Leadership Titles and Certificates of Tribal Membership. The ICCs/IPs concerned shall have the sole power to authenticate indigenous leadership titles and certificates of membership. Accordingly, the ICCs/IPs shall have the following powers and rights: a) Right to Confer Leadership Titles. The ICCs/IPs concerned, in accordance with their customary laws and practices, shall have the sole right to vest titles of leadership such as, but not limited to, Bae, Datu, Baylan, Timuay, Likid and such other titles to their members. b) Recognition of Leadership Titles. To forestall undue conferment of leadership titles and misrepresentations, the ICCs/IPs concerned, may, at their option, submit a list of their recognized traditional socio-political leaders with their corresponding titles to the NCIP. The NCIP through its field offices, shall conduct a field validation of said list and shall maintain a national directory thereof. Page 11