ownership and possession thereto. Measures shall be taken in appropriate cases to safeguard
the right of the ICCs/IPs concerned to land which may no longer be exclusively occupied by
them, but to which they have traditionally had access for their subsistence and traditional
activities, particularly of ICCs/IPs who are still nomadic and/or shifting cultivators.
SEC. 52. Delineation Process. - The identification and delineation of ancestral domains shall
be done in accordance with the following procedures:
a) Ancestral Domains Delineated Prior to this Act.- The provisions hereunder shall not apply
to ancestral domains/lands already delineated according to DENR Administrative Order No.
2, series of 1993, nor to ancestral lands and domains delineated under any other community/
ancestral domain program prior to the enactment of this law. ICCs/IPs whose ancestral
lands/domains were officially delineated prior to the enactment of this law shall have the
right to apply for the issuance of a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) over the
area without going through the process outlined hereunder;
b) Petition for Delineation. - The process of delineating a specific perimeter may be initiated
by the NCIP with the consent of the ICC/IP concerned, or through a Petition for Delineation
filed with the NCIP, by a majority of the members of the ICCs/IPs;
c) Delineation Proper. - The official delineation of ancestral domain boundaries including
census of all community members therein, shall be immediately undertaken by the Ancestral
Domains Office upon filing of the application by the ICCs/IPs concerned. Delineation will be
done in coordination with the community concerned and shall at all times include genuine
involvement and participation by the members of the communities concerned;
d) Proof Required. - Proof of Ancestral Domain Claims shall include the testimony of elders
or community under oath, and other documents directly or indirectly attesting to the
possession or occupation of the area since time immemorial by such ICCs/IPs in the concept
of owners which shall be any one ( I ) of the following authentic documents:
1) Written accounts of the ICCs/IPs customs and traditions;
2) Written accounts of the ICCs/IPs political structure and institution;
3) Pictures showing long term occupation such as those of old improvements, burial grounds,
sacred places and old villages;
4) Historical accounts, including pacts and agreements concerning boundaries entered into by
the ICCs/IPs concerned with other ICCs/lPs;
5) Survey plans and sketch maps;
6) Anthropological data;
7) Genealogical surveys;
8) Pictures and descriptive histories of traditional communal forests and hunting grounds;
9) Pictures and descriptive histories of traditional landmarks such as mountains, rivers,
creeks, ridges, hills, terraces and the like; and
10) Write-ups of names and places derived from the native dialect of the community.
e) Preparation of Maps. - On the basis of such investigation and the findings of fact based
thereon, the Ancestral Domains Office shall prepare a perimeter map, complete with
technical descriptions, and a description of the natural features and landmarks embraced
therein;
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