Decision G.R. No. 224469 26 Filipino people. Formal education and customary practices are not mutually exclusive, but is in fact, as some studies note, co-exist in Mangyan communities as they thrive in the modern society. It may be opportune to consider that in indigenous communities, customs and cultural practices are normally transferred through oral tradition. Hence, it is inaccurate to conclude that a few years in elementary school results to IP's total acculturation. As already discussed, Mangyans perceive all the resources found in their ancestral domain to be communal. They are accustomed to using and enjoying these resources without asking permission, even from other tribes, much less from government functionaries with whom they do not normally interact. Moreover, by the location of their settlements, links to local government units, or information sources are different from those residing in the lowlands. As such, the Court may reasonably infer that petitioners are unaware of the prohibition set forth in Sec. 77 of P.D. No. 705. ' - To my mind, an acknowledgment of the Mangyan's unique way of life negates any finding on the petitioners' intent to perpetrate the prohibited act. Taken with the fact that petitioners were caught cutting only one (1) dita tree at the time they were apprehended, and that it was done in obedience to the orders of their elders, it is clear that the cutting of the tree was a casual, incidental, and harmless act done within the context of their customary tradition. In my opinion, P.D. 705, which took effect in 1975, should be viewed under the prism of the 1987 Constitution which recognizes the right of indigenous cultural communities. The noble objectives of P.D. 705 in protecting our forest lands should be viewed in conjunction with the Constitution's mandate of recognizing our indigenous groups as integral to our nation's existence. I submit that under our present Constitutional regime, comis cannot summarily ignore allegations or factual circumstances that pertain to indigenous rights or traditions, but must instead carefully weigh and evaluate whether these are material to the resolution of the case. This does not mean, however, that the Court is creating a novel exempting circumstance in criminal prosecutions. It merely behooves the courts to make a case-to-case determination whether an accused's ties to an indigenous cultural community affects the prosecution's accusations or the defense of the accused. Simply put, the courts should not ignore indigeneity in favor of absolute reliance to the traditional purpose of criminal prosecution, which are deterrence and retribution. In sum, the peculiar circumstances of this case compel me to take petitioners' side. I am convinced that petitioners' intent to perpetrate the offense has not been established by the prosecution with moral certainty. For this reason, I vote for petitioners' acquittal. Objectively, 69 their reliance cannot be faulted because IP rights have long been recognized at different levels of our legal system - the 69 Nunavut Teachers' Association v. Nunavut, 2010 NUCJ 13 (CanLII), <http://canlii.ca/t/2c4sl>, retrieved on 2020-10-3: " ... the objective element relates to the party's bargaining with a view to concluding a collective agreement. The Board approved the words from ROK Tree (1999) Ltd. (Re), [2000] N.B.L.E.B.D. No. 14, 57 C.L.R.B.R. (2d) 293, that the efforts made to conclude a collective agreement are If