5.0 Recognition of indigenous peoples’ ancestral domains I ndigenous peoples in the Philippines. The vast majority of the estimated 12-15 million indigenous peoples (IPs) in the Philippines reside in the uplands with the remaining biodiverse ecosystems which they claim as part of their ancestral domains. Out of the 128 initially identified key biodiversity areas, 96 sites or 75 percent are within the traditional territories of IPs. Most indigenous communities, however, do not have legal recognition over their traditional lands, thus limiting their ability to freely conduct their livelihood activities and exercise their traditional resource management. This diversity is also reflected in the country’s people, consisting of various ethnic groups. There are an estimated 171 languages in the Philippines, of which 168 are living languages and three are extinct. (Grimes, ed., 1992) The numbers also represent the different cultural entities that speak these languages. Successive colonization divided the Philippine population into those who acquired power from colonization and those who lost power because they avoided colonization. The “indigenous peoples” were thus separated from the rest of the population to form a minority. The NCIP estimates the population of indigenous peoples in the Philippines at between 12 and 15 million distributed into approximately 110 different ethno-linguistic groups or “cultural communities.” Relationship of indigenous peoples to land. Most indigenous Filipinos still live on or near their ancestral lands, which provide them with their livelihoods and help them define their identity. Indigenous peoples still adhere to the traditional view of communal ownership in regard to most of their resources, which include not only the small patches of land that serve as individual farm lots, but also the forest resources found within their ancestral domains. What essentially distinguishes the indigenous Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) 75