Dissenting Opinion
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G.R. No. 224469
before it, in U.S. vs. Pascual, a 1908 case, lack of instruction was already held
not applicable to crimes of theft or robbery. The Maqui case was decided in
1914, when the state of civilization of the Igorots has not advanced as it
had in reaching its present state since recent years, when it certainly can
no longer be said of any member of a cultural minority in the country
that he is uncivilized or semi-uncivilized. 85
As early as 1981, Macatanda had already recognized the undeniable
advancement of IPs insofar as civilization is concerned. A prime example of
this is petitioners themselves: indigenes who are Grade IV graduates. It
should no longer be reasoned that the unique character of IPs must operate
to create a lenient exemption in their favor. As Macatanda instructs, mere
membership in a cultural minority and the supposed lack of instruction it
entails, does not completely exonerate an accused from criminal liability
under penal laws.
Be that as it may, Ju~tice Perlas-Bernabe asserts Section 20(c) 86 of the
ENIPAS Act of 2018, 87 which amended the NIPAS Act of 1992, to be
another statute apart from the IPRA where the State permits IPs to utilize
natural resources within their ancestral domains. She then concludes that
this provision accurately demonstrates the constitutional and statutory
protection of legitimate exercises of IPs' rights in an environmental
legislation. The argument, however, fails to take certain circumstances into
account.
In the first place, the land where the dita tree was cut herein is not
covered by the provisions of the ENIP AS Act. The said law provides that a
National Integrated Protected Areas System which aims to ensure
sustainable use of resources shall apply to all designated protected areas, 88
one of which Mounts Iglit-Baco Natural Park in Occidental and Oriental
Mindoro. 89 But while the land subject of the present case is also in the
province of Oriental Mindoro, it is not located in any of the municipalities
~
"
85
People v. Macatanda, supra note 83, at 5 IO. (Emphasis ours)
Section 20 (c) which provides:
Sec. 20. Prohibited Acts. - Except as may be allowed by the nature of their categories and pursuant
to rules and regulations governing the same, the following acts are prohibited within protected areas:
xxxx
(c) Cutting, gathering, removing or collecting timber within the protected area including private
lands therein, without the necessary permit, authorization, certification of planted trees or exemption such
as for culling exotic species; except, however, when such acts are done in accordance with the duly
recognized practices of the IPs/ICCs for subsistence purposes;
87
An Act Declaring Protected Areas and Providing for Their Management, Amending for This
Purpose Republic Act No. 7586, Otherwise Known as the "National Integrated Protected Areas System
(NIPAS) Act of 1992" and for Other Purposes, approved on June 22, 2018.
88
Section 2 ofR.A. No. 11083 provides:
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - xx x
"To this end, there is hereby established a National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS),
which shall encompass ecologically rich and unique areas and biologically important public lands that are
habitats of rare and threatened species of plants and animals, biogeographic zones and related ecosystems,
whether terrestrial, wetland or marine, all of which shall be designated as 'protected areas'.
~
89
See Section 5 ofR.A. No. 11083 for full list of protected areas.
86
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