INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHT ACT (IPRRA LAW)

Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples - refer to a group of people or

homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by other, who have
continuously lived as organized community on communally bounded and defined territory, and
who have, under claims of ownership since time immemorial, occupied, possessed customs,
tradition and other distinctive cultural traits, or who have, through resistance to political, social
and cultural inroads of colonization, non-indigenous religions and culture, became historically
differentiated from the majority of Filipinos. ICCs/IPs shall likewise include peoples who are
regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the
country, at the time of conquest or colonization, or at the time of inroads of non-indigenous
religions and cultures, or the establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of
their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions, but who may have been displaced
from their traditional domains or who may have resettled outside their ancestral domains;

Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title - refers to a title formally recognizing the rights of
possession and ownership of ICCs/IPs over their ancestral domains identified and delineated in
accordance with this law;

Certificate of Ancestral Lands Title - refers to a title formally recognizing the rights of ICCs/IPs
over their ancestral lands;

Native Title - refers to pre-conquest rights to lands and domains which, as far back as memory
reaches, have been held under a claim of private ownership by ICCs/IPs, have never been public
lands and are thus indisputably presumed to have been held that way since before the Spanish
Conquest;

Time Immemorial - refers to a period of time when as far back as memory can go, certain
ICCs/IPs are known to have occupied, possessed in the concept of owner, and utilized a defined
territory devolved to them, by operation of customary law or inherited from their ancestors, in
accordance with their customs and traditions.

DELINEATION AND RECOGNITION OF ANCESTRAL DOMAINS

Delineation and Recognition of Ancestral Domains. - Self-delineation shall be guiding principle

in the identification and delineation of ancestral domains. As such, the ICCs/IPs concerned shall
have a decisive role in all the activities pertinent thereto. The Sworn Statement of the Elders as to
the Scope of the territories and agreements/pacts made with neighboring ICCs/IPs, if any, will be
essential to the determination of these traditional territories. The Government shall take the
necessary steps to identify lands which the ICCs/IPs concerned traditionally occupy and
guarantee effective protection of their rights of ownership and possession thereto. Measures shall
be taken in appropriate cases to safeguard the rights of the ICCs/IPs concerned to land which
may no longer be exclusively occupied by them, but to which they have traditionally had access
for their subsistence and traditional activities, particularly of ICCs/IPs who are still nomadic
and/or shifting cultivators.

Delineation Process. - The identification and delineation of ancestral domains shall be done in
accordance with the following procedures:

a. Ancestral Domains Delineated Prior to this Act - The provisions hereunder shall not
apply to ancestral domains/lands already delineated according to DENR Administrative
Order No. 2, series of 1993, nor to ancestral lands and domains delineated under any
other community/ancestral domain program prior to the enactment of his law. ICCs/IPs
enactment of this law shall have the right to apply for the issuance of a Certificate of
Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) over the area without going through the process outlined
hereunder;

b. Petition for Delineation - The process of delineating a specific perimeter may be

initiated by the NCIP with the consent of the ICC/IP concerned, or through a Petition for
Delineation filed with the NCIP, by a majority of the members of the ICCs/IPs;

c. Delineation Paper - The official delineation of ancestral domain boundaries including

census of all community members therein, shall be immediately undertaken by the
Ancestral Domains Office upon filing of the application by the ICCs/IPs concerned.
Delineation will be done in coordination with the community concerned and shall at all
times include genuine involvement and participation by the members of the communities
concerned;

d. Proof required - Proof of Ancestral Domain Claims shall include the testimony of
elders or community under oath, and other documents directly or indirectly attesting to
the possession or occupation of the area since time immemorial by such ICCs/IPs in the
concept of owners which shall be any one (1) of the following authentic documents:

1. Written accounts of the ICCs/IPs customs and traditions;

2. Written accounts of the ICCs/IPs political structure and institution;

3. Pictures showing long term occupation such as those of old improvements,

burial grounds, sacred places and old villages;

4. Historical accounts, including pacts and agreements concerning boundaries

entered into by the ICCs/IPs concerned with other ICCs/IPs;

5. Survey plans and sketch maps;

 6. Anthropological data;

7. Genealogical surveys;

8. Pictures and descriptive histories of traditional communal forests and hunting

grounds;

9. Pictures and descriptive histories of traditional landmarks such as mountains,

rivers, creeks, ridges, hills, terraces and the like; and

10. Write-ups of names and places derived from the native dialect of the
community.

e. Preparation of Maps - On the basis of such investigation and the findings of fact based
thereon, the Ancestral Domains Office of the NCIP shall prepare a perimeter map,
complete with technical descriptions, and a description of the natural features and
landmarks embraced therein;

f. Report of Investigation and Other Documents - A complete copy of the preliminary

census and a report of investigation, shall be prepared by the Ancestral Domains Office
of the NCIP;

g. Notice and Publication - A copy of each document, including a translation in the

native language of the ICCs/IPs concerned shall be posted in a prominent place therein
for at least fifteen (15) days. A copy of the document shall also be posted at the local,
provincial and regional offices of the NCIP, and shall be published in a newspaper of
general circulation once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks to allow other claimants to
file opposition thereto within fifteen (15) days from the date of such publication:
Provided, That in areas where no such newspaper exists, broadcasting in a radio station
will be a valid substitute: Provided, further, That mere posting shall be deemed sufficient
if both newspaper and radio station are not available;

h. Endorsement to NCIP - Within fifteen (15) days from publication, and of the
inspection process, the Ancestral Domains Office shall prepare a report to the NCIP
endorsing a favorable action upon a claim that is deemed to have sufficient proof.
However, if the proof is deemed insufficient, the Ancestral Domains Office shall require
the submission of additional evidence: Provided, That the Ancestral Domains Office shall
reject any claim that is deemed patently false or fraudulent after inspection and
verification: Provided, further, That in case of rejection, the Ancestral Domains Office
shall give the applicant due notice, copy furnished all concerned, containing the grounds
for denial. The denial shall be appealable to the NCIP: Provided, furthermore, That in
cases where there are conflicting claims, the Ancestral Domains Office shall cause the
contending parties to meet and assist them in coming up with a preliminary resolution of
the conflict, without prejudice to its full adjudication according to the selection below.
 i. Turnover of Areas Within Ancestral Domains Managed by Other Government
Agencies - The Chairperson of the NCIP shall certify that the area covered is an ancestral
domain. The secretaries of the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, Department of the Interior and Local Government,
and Department of Justice, the Commissioner of the National Development Corporation,
and any other government agency claiming jurisdiction over the area shall be notified
thereof. Such notification shall terminate any legal basis for the jurisdiction previously
claimed;

j. Issuance of CADT - ICCs/IPs whose ancestral domains have been officially delineated
and determined by the NCIP shall be issued a CADT in the name of the community
concerned, containing a list of all those identified in the census; and

k. Registration of CADTs - The NCIP shall register issued certificates of ancestral domain
titles and certificates of ancestral lands titles before the Register of Deeds in the place
where the property is situated.

Identification, Delineation and Certification of Ancestral Lands. -

a. The allocation of lands within any ancestral domain to individual or indigenous

corporate (family or clan) claimants shall be left to the ICCs/IPs concerned to decide in
accordance with customs and traditions;

b. Individual and indigenous corporate claimants of ancestral lands which are not within
ancestral domains, may have their claims officially established by filing applications for
the identification and delineation of their claims with the Ancestral Domains Office. An
individual or recognized head of a family or clan may file such application in his behalf
or in behalf of his family or clan, respectively;

c. Proofs of such claims shall accompany the application form which shall include the
testimony under oath of elders of the community and other documents directly or
indirectly attesting to the possession or occupation of the areas since time immemorial by
the individual or corporate claimants in the concept of owners which shall be any of the
authentic documents enumerated under Sec. 52 (d) of this act, including tax declarations
and proofs of payment of taxes;

d. The Ancestral Domains Office may require from each ancestral claimant the
submission of such other documents, Sworn Statements and the like, which in its opinion,
may shed light on the veracity of the contents of the application/claim;

e. Upon receipt of the applications for delineation and recognition of ancestral land
claims, the Ancestral Domains Office shall cause the publication of the application and a
copy of each document submitted including a translation in the native language of the
ICCs/IPs concerned in a prominent place therein for at least fifteen (15) days. A copy of
the document shall also be posted at the local, provincial, and regional offices of the
NCIP and shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for two
(2) consecutive weeks to allow other claimants to file opposition thereto within fifteen
(15) days from the date of such publication: Provided, That in areas where no such
newspaper exists, broadcasting in a radio station will be a valid substitute: Provided,
further, That mere posting shall be deemed sufficient if both newspapers and radio station
are not available

f. Fifteen (15) days after such publication, the Ancestral Domains Office shall investigate
and inspect each application, and if found to be meritorious, shall cause a parcellary
survey of the area being claimed. The Ancestral Domains office shall reject any claim
that is deemed patently false or fraudulent after inspection and verification. In case of
rejection, the Ancestral Domains office shall give the applicant due notice, copy
furnished all concerned, containing the grounds for denial. The denial shall be appealable
to the NCIP. In case of conflicting claims among individual or indigenous corporate
claimants, the Ancestral domains Office shall cause the contending parties to meet and
assist them in coming up with a preliminary resolution of the conflict, without prejudice
to its full adjudication according to Sec. 62 of this Act. In all proceedings for the
identification or delineation of the ancestral domains as herein provided, the Director of
Lands shall represent the interest of the Republic of the Philippines; and

g. The Ancestral Domains Office shall prepare and submit a report on each and every
application surveyed and delineated to the NCIP, which shall, in turn, evaluate or
corporate (family or clan) claimant over ancestral lands.