for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public
order and the general welfare in a democratic society; and
f) Transparency and Capacity Building. The Commission shall perform its tasks on the basis
of transparency and active support and participation by the ICCs/IPs, and shall take a proactive strategy in empowering ICCs/IPs and in the fulfillment of its mandate.
RULE II. DEFINITION OF TERMS
Section 1. Definition of Terms. For purposes of these Rules and Regulations the
following terms shall mean:
a) Ancestral Domains. Refers to all areas generally belonging to ICCs/IPs, subject to property
rights within ancestral domains already existing and/or vested upon the effectivity of the Act,
comprising lands, inland 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 voluntary dealings entered into by the
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.
b) Ancestral Lands. Refers to land, subject to property rights within the ancestral domains
already existing and/or vested upon effectivity of the Act, occupied, possessed and utilized by
individuals, families and clans who are members of the ICCs/ IPs since time immemorial, by
themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest, under claims of individual or traditional
group ownership, continuously, to the present except when interrupted by war, force majeure
or displacement by force, deceit, stealth, or as a consequence of government projects and
other voluntary dealings entered into by government and private individuals/corporations,
including, but not limited to, residential lots, rice terraces or paddies, private forests, swidden
farms and tree lots.
c) Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT). Refers to a title formally recognizing the
rights of possession and ownership of ICCs/IPs over their ancestral domains identified and
delineated in accordance with this law.
d) Certificate of Ancestral Land Title (CALT). Refers to a title formally recognizing the
rights of ICCs/IPs over their ancestral lands.
e) Culture Sensitive. Refers to the quality of being compatible and appropriate to the culture,
beliefs, customs and traditions, indigenous systems and practices of ICCs/IPs.
f) Communal Claims. Refer to claims on land, resources and rights thereon belonging to the
whole community within a defined territory.
g) Commercial Forest Plantation. Refers to any land planted to timber producing species,
including rubber, and/or non-timber species such as rattan and bamboo, primarily to supply
the raw material requirements of existing or proposed public or private forest-based
industries, energy-generating plants and related industries.
h) Customary Laws. Refer to a body of written or unwritten rules, usages, customs and
practices traditionally observed, accepted and recognized by respective ICCs/ IPs.
i)
Customs and Practices. Refers to norms of conduct and patterns of relationships or usages
of a community over time accepted and recognized as binding on all members.
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