Decision G.R. No. 224469 10 As barangay captain of Barangay Baras, Baco, Oriental Mindoro where petitioners and the Iraya-Mangyan IPs live, Aceveda is competent to testify that petitioners are Iraya-Mangyan IPs and the dita tree was grown and found in the land where these IPs have inhabited since time immemorial. For he has personally known the people living within his barangay, including petitioners and other Iraya-Mangyan IPs. When asked about petitioners, he positively identified these persons by their names and confirmed they are Iraya-Mangyan IPs. 37 He is fully knowledgeable of the territory and the people ofhis barangay. He too is a member of the Iraya-Mangyan IPs. These matters were not refuted by the prosecution. The second evidence that petitioners are indeed Iraya-Mangyan IPs is the fact that the NCIP - Legal Affairs Office has~ been representing them from the initiation of this case until the present. 38 Records show that the NCIPLegal Affairs Office signed the motions and pleadings filed in petitioners' defense before the trial court, the Court of Appeals, and this Court, viz.: ( 1) Motion to Quash Information39 dated July 31, 2007; (2) Motion for Reconsideration40 of the adverse Decision dated September 08, 2010 of the RTC - Calapan City; (3) Supplement to the Motion for Reconsideration41 dated January 17, 2009; (4) Motion for Reconsideration42 dated July 06, 2015 of the adverse Decision of the Court of Appeals; ( 5) Petition for Review43 dated May 16, 2014; and (6) Reply44 dated March 02, 2017. Under the IPRA, the NCIP is the lead government agency 45 for the protection, promotion, and preservation of IP/ICC identities and rights in the context of national unity. 46 As a result of its expertise, it has the primary jurisdiction to identify ICCs and IPs. Its Legal Affairs Office is mandated to represent and provide legal assistance to them: .,, '"' Section 46 (g) Legal Affairs Office - There shall be a Legal Affairs Office which shall advice the NCIP on all legal matters concerning ICCs/IPs and which shall be responsible for providing ICCs/IPs with legal assistance in litigation involving community Id See Petitioners' Motion for Reconsideration to the RTC Decision dated September 08, 2010 signed by Atty. Jeanette A. Florita of the NCIP-Legal Affairs Office, id. at 63-71; See also Court of Appeals' Notice of Resolution dated April 11, 2016 addressed to Atty. Jeanette A. Fiorita of the NCIP - Legal Affairs Office as counsel for Accused-Appellants, id. at 38-40; See also Petition for Review dated May 16, 2014 signed by the Atty. Jeanette A. Fiorita of the NCIP- Legal Affairs Office, id. at 14-37. 39 Id at 52-55; signed by Atty. Leovigilda V. Guioguio. 40 Id. at 63-71; signed by Jeanette A. Fiorita. 41 Id. at 78-76; signed by Jeanette A. Florita. 42 Id. at 90-109; signed by Atty. Jeanette A. Fiorita. 43 Id. at 14-37; signed by Attys. Jeanette A. Fiorita and Rizzabel A. Madangeng. 44 Id. at 158-169; signed by Atty. Jeanette A. Florita. 45 RA 8371 (1997), The Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997. CHAPTER VII - National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Section 38: National Commission on Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).- To carry out the policies herein set forth, there shall be created the National Commission on ICCs/IPs (NCIP),which shall be the primary government agency responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies, plans and programs to promote and protect the rights and well-being of the ICCs/IPs and the recognition of their ancestral domains as well as the rights thereto. See infra for a discussion of the constitutional principle of preservation within the context of national unity. 46 See infra for a discussion of the constitutional principle of preservation within the context of national unity. 37 38