Separate Concurring Opinion 6 G.R. No. 224469 An accused has in his favor the presumption of innocence which the Bill of Rights guarantees; Unless his guilt is shown beyond reasonable doubt, he must be acquitted. This reasonable doubt standard is demanded by the due process clause of the Constitution which protects the accused from conviction except upon proof beyond reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged. The burden of proof is on the prosecution, and unless it discharges that burden the accused need not even offer evidence in his behalf, and he would be entitled to an acquittal. Proof beyond reasonable doubt does not, of course, mean such degree of proof as excluding possibility of error, produces absolute certainty. Moral certainty only is required, or that degree of proof which produces conviction in an unprejudiced mind. The conscience must be satisfied that the accused is responsible for the offense charged. 24 (Citations omitted) I share the observation of Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe that laws passed after the Revised Forestry Code cast reasonable doubt as to the criminal liability of the accused. 25 Presidential Decree No. 705 was passed in 1975. Its declared policy includes the "protection, development and rehabilitation of forest lands ... to ensure their continuity in productive condition." 26 At the time the law was enacted, the 1973 Constitution devoted one ( 1) provision concemmg national cultural minorities. 27 Article XV, Section 11 provides: SECTION 11. The State shall consider the customs, traditions, beliefs, and interests of national cultural communities in the formulation and implementation of state policies. Upon the ratification of the 1987 Constitution, the State's attitude towards indigenous people shifted from integration to maintaining and preserving the indigenous people's identity. "[I]t commits to not only recognize, but also promote, 'the rights of indigenous cultural communities. "' 28 In addition, the 1987 Constitution affirms to "protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to their ancestral lands to ensure their economic, social, and cultural well-being." 29 Taking this shift into account, subsequent laws incorporated the concept of ancestral land and recognized the rights of indigenous peoples. 30 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Id. at 325. See J. Perlas-Bernabe Separate Concurring Opinion, pp. 4-7. Pres. Decree No. 705 (1975), sec. 2(d). See Ha Datu Tawahig v. Lapinid, G.R. No. 221139, March 20, 2019, <https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/65145> [Per J. Leon en, Third Division]. Ha Datu Tawahig v. Lapinid, G.R. No. 221139, March 20, 2019, <https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/65145> [Per J. Leonen, Third Division]. CONST. art. XII, sec. 5. See Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples: An Overview of Recent Developments in Policy, 1998 PHIL. PEACE & HUM. RTS. REV. 159, 161 (I 998). !