G.R. No. 224469 - Diosdado Samay Hinupas and Bandy Mass:tlay y
Aceveda v. People of the Philippines.
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Promulgated:
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January 5, 2021
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SEPARATE CONCURRING OPINION
ZALAMEDA, J.:
Petitioners are before this Court seeking their acquittal from the
offense punished under Section 77 of Presidential Decree No. 705 (P.D.
705), specifically the offense of cutting down a tree without the requisite
permit or authority. Petitioners, who are members of the Iraya-Mangyan
indigenous cultural community (ICC), averred that they are not criminally
liable because they were merely exercising their legitimate right to use and
enjoy the natural resources within their ancestral domains, and were acting
in accordance with their elders' directions.
The People, however, argued that petitioners violated the law when
they logged the dita tree, for which violation they must be held accountable.
They further argue that petitioners, even as members of an indigenous
cultural group, enjoy no right more special or distinct from the rest of the
Filipino people. Petitioners' mere act of cutting a tree without permit is
sufficient for conviction.
I concur in the result reached by my distinguished colleague, J.
Lazaro-Javier, in her ponencia.