years, through a CSC for individuals or CCFS for indigenous communities. At
least 34 indigenous communities opted to participate in the ISFP to secure a
CCFS. This program appealed to many indigenous communities as it
acknowledged a measure of their traditional and customary tenure practices.
However, the CCFS applied only to areas defined as part of the forest zone, and its
coverage was defined through negotiations with the DENR. It covered individual
and communally owned and managed areas but was limited to areas that had
no other existing tenurial instrument; protected areas and parks were exempted
from coverage. Resource utilization was limited to actual local use and local
consumption, and harvestable resources were strictly regulated by the DENR.
DENR Administrative Order 02 – Recognition of ancestral lands and domains.
In compliance with the 1987 Constitutional provision on the recognition of
ancestral domains, the DENR issued AO No. 2, Series of 1993. The order stipulates
the rules and regulations for the identification, delineation and recognition of
ancestral land and domain claims. Provincial Special Task Forces on Ancestral
Domains (PSTFAD) were created to initiate the process of verifying and processing
the ancestral domain claims of indigenous communities. CADCs were issued to
claims filed by indigenous communities and verified in a process of validation
facilitated by the PSTFAD.
As a tenure instrument, a CADC is a “recognition certificate” issued in the names
of the nominated IP representatives who hold the CADC in trust in behalf of the
community. It has no fixed term and can include and cover all areas that the
applicant community can prove to be part of their ancestral lands or domains
since time immemorial, including inland and offshore bodies of water. And
unlike earlier land tenure arrangements, the CADC recognizes the traditional
leadership structure of the indigenous community to exercise governance.
However, rules and policies especially on resource utilization are still subject to
the “legal framework” of national laws.
The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997. Due to the continuous and
sustained lobbying efforts and advocacy of indigenous peoples’ organizations
and their support groups, the landmark IPRA was enacted in 1997 to recognize,
protect and promote the rights of indigenous peoples. Provisions include:
Recognition of ownership rights. IPRA goes beyond the past contract-based
resource management agreements between the State and the community, and
recognizes the “ownership” of the indigenous communities over their traditional
78
Status of Land and Resource Tenure Reform in the Philippines 2018
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents