Dissenting Opinion
- 15 -
G.R. No. 224469
are strictly in adherence to established traditional leadership structure and
practices. Unlike the majority's assertions, therefore, the case before Us
does not have to be one where a statute such as the IPRA is given preferred
application at the expense of P.D. No. 705 especially since reconciliation is
achievable to give force and effect to both. The DENR-NCIP Joint AO No.
2008-01 duly accomplishes. this end.
It bears stressing that nowhere in P.D. No. 705 was it provided that
IPs are absolutely prohibited from cutting any and all trees found within
ancestral domains. The law merely requires them to obtain the necessary
permit prior to the cutting. In tum, nowhere in the IPRA was it declared that
IPs shall enjoy an unbridled right to log subject to no limitation under
existing laws. It can hardly be said, therefore, that the requirements imposed
by P.D. No. 705 are contrary to the objectives of the IPRA in the recognition
of IPs rights. On the contrary, the two are actually complementary of each
other.
In Lim v. Gamosa, 38 for instance, We refrained from declaring that the
IPRA must prevail over Batas Pambansa Bilang (B.P.) 129 in the absence of
an unequivocal expression of the will of the Congress. There, We held that
there is no clear, irreconcilable conflict between the IPRA, which merely
granted the NCIP jurisdiction over all claims of IPs without restricting
words such as "primary" or "exclusive," and B.P. 129 which granted RTCs
exclusive, original jurisdiction over similar IP claims. Well settled is the rule
that implied repeals are often disfavoured. As much as possible, effect must
be given to all enactments of the legislature for otherwise, laws will always
remain doubtful. 39
It must be noted, too, that interpreting the meaning of "authority" in
such a way that excludes IPs from the coverage of Section 77 is tantamount
to judicial legislation. This is because there simply is no legislative intent to
that effect. In Corpuz v. People, 40 the Court was si1nilarly faced with a
question of the continued validity of the penalties imposed by the RPC on
crimes against property pegged at values during the time of its enactment in
1930. We, however, refrained from modifying this range, for to do so would
be to commit judicial legislation. Thus, apart from the recognition that the
Court is ill-equipped and lacks the resources to arrive at a more accurate
assessment of the IP rights -vis-a-vis natural resources, We should not usurp
Congress' inherent powers of enacting laws. 41
38
{7
774Phil. 31 (2015).
Penera v. Commission on Elections, 615 Phil. 667, 718 (2009); and De Lima v. Guerrero, 819
Phil. 616, 1211 (2017).
40
734 Phil. 353 (2014).
41
Id. at 425.
39