04/02/2020
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Journal entitled Native Title, Private Right and Tribal Land Law.[146] This
article was made after Professor Lynch visited over thirty tribal communities
throughout the country and studied the origin and development of Philippine land
laws.[147] He discussed Cariño extensively and used the term "native title" to refer
to Cariño's title as discussed and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in said case.
(b) Indian Title
In a footnote in the same article, Professor Lynch stated that the concept of "native
title" as defined by Justice Holmes in Cariño "is conceptually similar to "aboriginal
title" of the American Indians.[148] This is not surprising, according to Prof. Lynch,
considering that during the American regime, government policy towards ICCs/IPs
was consistently made in reference to native Americans.[149] This was clearly
demonstrated in the case of Rubi v. Provincial Board of Mindoro.[150]
In Rubi, the Provincial Board of Mindoro adopted a Resolution authorizing the
provincial governor to remove the Mangyans from their domains and place them in a
permanent reservation in Sitio Tigbao, Lake Naujan. Any Mangyan who refused to
comply was to be imprisoned. Rubi and some Mangyans, including one who was
imprisoned for trying to escape from the reservation, filed for habeas corpus
claiming deprivation of liberty under the Board Resolution. This Court denied the
petition on the ground of police power. It upheld government policy promoting the
idea that a permanent settlement was the only successful method for educating the
Mangyans, introducing civilized customs, improving their health and morals, and
protecting the public forests in which they roamed.[151] Speaking through Justice
Malcolm, the court said:
"Reference was made in the President's instructions to the Commission to
the policy adopted by the United States for the Indian Tribes. The
methods followed by the Government of the Philippine Islands in its
dealings with the so-called non-Christian people is said, on argument, to
be practically identical with that followed by the United States
Government in its dealings with the Indian tribes. Valuable lessons, it is
insisted, can be derived by an investigation of the American-Indian policy.
From the beginning of the United States, and even before, the Indians
have been treated as "in a state of pupilage." The recognized relation
between the Government of the United States and the Indians may be
described as that of guardian and ward. It is for the Congress to
determine when and how the guardianship shall be terminated. The
Indians are always subject to the plenary authority of the United States.
[152]
x
x
x.
As to the second point, the facts in the Standing Bear case and the Rubi
case are not exactly identical. But even admitting similarity of facts, yet
it is known to all that Indian reservations do exist in the United States,
that Indians have been taken from different parts of the country and
elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/36882
33/148
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