individual, corporate entity or any government agency, corporation or subdivision thereof on any part or
portion of the ancestral domain taking into consideration the consensus approval of the ICCs/IPs concerned;
n) To decide all appeals from the decisions and acts of all the various offices within the Commission;
o) To promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of this Act;
p) To exercise such other powers and functions as may be directed by the President of the Republic
of the Philippines; and
q) To represent the Philippine ICCs/IPs in all international conferences and conventions dealing with
indigenous peoples and other related concerns.
SECTION 45. Accessibility and Transparency. — Subject to such limitations as may be provided by law
or by rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, all official records, documents and papers
pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions, as well as research data used as basis for policy
development of the Commission shall be made accessible to the public.
SECTION 46. Offices within the NCIP. — The NCIP shall have the following offices which shall be
responsible for the implementation of the policies hereinafter provided:
a) Ancestral Domains Office — The Ancestral Domain Office shall be responsible for the
identification, delineation and recognition of ancestral lands/domains. It shall also be responsible for the
management of ancestral lands/domains in accordance with a master plan as well as the implementation of
the ancestral domain rights of the ICCs/IPs as provided in Chapter III of this Act. It shall also issue, upon the
free and prior informed consent of the ICCs/IPs concerned, certification prior to the grant of any license,
lease or permit for the exploitation of natural resources affecting the interests of ICCs/IPs or their ancestral
domains and to assist the ICCs/IPs in protecting the territorial integrity of all ancestral domains. It shall
likewise perform such other functions as the Commission may deem appropriate and necessary;
b) Office on Policy, Planning and Research — The Office on Policy, Planning and Research shall be
responsible for the formulation of appropriate policies and programs for ICCs/IPs such as, but not limited to,
the development of a FiveYear Master Plan for the ICCs/IPs. Such plan shall undergo a process such that
every five years, the Commission shall endeavor to assess the plan and make ramifications in accordance
with the changing situations. The Office shall also undertake the documentation of customary law and shall
establish and maintain a Research Center that would serve as a depository of ethnographic information for
monitoring, evaluation and policy formulation. It shall assist the legislative branch of the national government
in the formulation of appropriate legislation benefiting ICCs/IPs;
c) Office of Education, Culture and Health — The Office on Culture, Education and Health shall be
responsible for the effective implementation of the education, cultural and related rights as provided in this
Act. It shall assist, promote and support community schools, both formal and nonformal, for the benefit of
the local indigenous community, especially in areas where existing educational facilities are not accessible to
members of the indigenous group. It shall administer all scholarship programs and other educational rights
intended for ICC/IP beneficiaries in coordination with the Department of Education, Culture and Sports and
the Commission on Higher Education. It shall undertake, within the limits of available appropriation, a special
program which includes language and vocational training, public health and family assistance program and
related subjects.