Dissenting Opinion
- 21 -
G.R. No. 224469
neither Section 3(a)58 nor Section 7 (a) 59 and (b) 60 of the IPRA make
mention of any right of ownership of IPs over natural resources. On the one
hand, the former merely defines the coverage, extent, and limit of ancestral
domains. On the other hand, the latter merely recognizes the "right to claim
ownership over lands, bodies of water traditionally and actually occupied by
indigenous peoples, sacred places, traditional hunting and fishing grounds,
and all improvements made by them at any time within the domains." But
these provisions do not confer or recognize any right of ownership over the
natural resources. Their purpose is definitional and not declarative of a right
or title. 61
In view of the foregoing, the Court, speaking through Justice
Kapunan, held in Cruz that certain areas claimed as ancestral domains may
still be under the administration of other agencies of the government such as
the DENR with respect to timber, forest, and mineral lands. While these
areas may be certified as ancestral domains under the IPRA, the jurisdiction
of government agencies over the natural resources thereon does not
terminate for the government is mandated by law to administer the natural
resources for the State. To construe the IPRA as divesting the State of
jurisdiction over the natural resources within the ancestral domains would
be inconsistent with the established doctrine that all natural resources are
owned by the State, for the People. 62
58
SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following tenns shall mean:
a)
Ancestral Domains - Subject to Section 56 hereof, refer to all areas generally belonging
to ICCs/IPs comprising lands, iniand waters, coastal areas, and natural resources therein, held under a claim
of ownership, occupied or possessed by ICCs/IPs, by themselves or through their ancestors, communally or
individually since time immemorial, continuously to the present except when interrupted by war, force
majeure or displacement by force, deceit, stealth or as a consequence of government projects or any other
voluntary dealings entered into by government and private individuals/corporations, and which are
necessary to ensure their economic, social and cultural welfare. It shall include ancestral lands, forests,
pasture, residential, agricultural, and other lands individually owned whether alienable and disposable or
otherwise, hunting grounds, burial grounds, worship areas, bodies of water, mineral and other natural
resources, and lands which may no longer be exclusively occupied by ICCs/IPs but from which they
traditionally had access to for their subsistence and traditional activities, particularly the home ranges of
ICCs/IPs who are still nomadic and/or shifting cultivators;
59
SECTION 7. Rights to Ancestral Domains. - The rights of ownership and possession of ICCs/IPs
to their ancestral domains shall be recognized and protected. Such rights shall include:
a) Right of Ownership. - The right to claim ownership over lands, bodies of water traditionally
and actually occupied by ICCs/IPs, sacred places, traditional hunting and fishing grounds, and all
improvements made by them at any time within the domains;
60
b) Right to Develop Lands and Natural Resources. - Subject to Section 56 hereof, right to
develop, control and use lands and territories traditionally occupied, owned, or used; to manage and
conserve natural resources within the territories and uphold the responsibilities for future generations; to
benefit and share the profits from allocation and utilization of the natural resources found therein; the right
to negotiate the terms and conditions for the exploration of natural resources in the areas for the purpose of
ensuring ecological, enviromnental protection and the conservation measures, pursuant to national and
customary laws; the right to an infonned and intelligent participation in the fonnulation and
implementation of any project, government or private, that will affect or impact upon the ancestral domains
and to receive just and fair compensation for any damages which they may sustain as a result of the project;
and the right to effective measures by the government to prevent any interference with, alienation and
encroachment upon these rights;
61
Cruz v. Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, supra note 49, at 1062.
62
Id.at 1071.
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