Decision
9
G.R. No. 221139
Additionally, a writ of mandamus, as with certiorari and prohibition,
shall be issued only upon a showing that "there is no other plain, speedy[,]
and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law[.]" 41
III
Petitioner anchors his plea on Section 65 of the Indigenous Peoples'
Rights Act, which reads:
SECTION 65. Primacy of Customary Laws and Practices. When disputes involve ICCs/IPs, customary laws and practices shall be
used to resolve the dispute.
Falling under Chapter IX of the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act,
Section 65 is part of a larger framework on "Jurisdiction and Procedures for
Enforcement of Rights." This framework enables the application of
customary laws and practices in dispute resolution for indigenous peoples.
Section 6642 builds on Section 65. It indicates that disputes still
unresolved despite the exhaustion of remedies under customary laws
governing the parties belonging to the same indigenous cultural community
may be brought to the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples. 43
Further building on Sections 65 and 66, Section 67 states that "[ d]ecisions of
the [National Commission on Indigenous Peoples] shall be appealable to the
Court of Appeals by way of a petition for review."
The provisions under Chapter IX do not only lend legitimacy to and
enable the continuing efficacy and viability of customary laws and practices
to maintain order and dispense justice within indigenous cultural
communities. They also work to segregate customary laws and practices in
two (2) respects. First, they make customary laws and practices structurally
and operationally distinct from enactments of the legislature and of those
upon whom legislative power has been delegated, as well as regulations of
general application. Second, they distinguish disputants belonging to the
41
42
43
RULES OF COURT, Rule 65, sec. 3.
Rep. Act No. 8371 (1997), sec. 66 provides:
SECTION 66. Jurisdiction of the NCIP. - The NCIP, through its regional offices, shall have
jurisdiction over all claims and disputes involving rights of ICCs/IPs: Provided, however, That no such
dispute shall be brought to the NCIP unless the parties have exhausted all remedies provided under
their customary laws. For this purpose, a certification shall be issued by the Council of Elders/Leaders
who participated in the attempt to settle the dispute that the same has not been resolved, which
certification shall be a condition precedent to the filing of a petition with the NCIP.
Unduran v. Aberasturi (771 Phil. 536 (2015) [Per J. Peralta, En Banc]) settled that:
[P]ursuant to Section 66 of the IPRA, the NCIP shall have jurisdiction over claims and disputes
involving rights of ICCs/IPs only when they arise between or among parties belonging to the same
ICC/IP. When such claims and disputes arise between or among parties who do not belong to the same
ICC/IP, i.e., parties belonging to different ICC/IPs or where one of the parties is a non-ICC/IP, the case
shall fall under the jurisdiction of the proper Courts of Justice, instead of the NCIP.
I