Ensuring the economic, social, and cultural well-being of indigenous cultural communities (ICC) and indigenous peoples (IP) are among the duties of the State (Section 5, Article II, 1987 Constitution). At the heart of this is the protection of the rights of ICCs/IPs to their ancestral lands.

Recently, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte proposed the possibility of opening the ancestral lands of Lumads to investors. While the President’s intention is to generate economic activity towards alleviating poverty in the Lumad area, it is vital to be circumspect when it comes to development plans involving ancestral domains.

For the ICCs and IPs, ancestral lands are sacred – their very identity and life are anchored on the land that their ancestors have nurtured and fought for with blood and sweat. Any development plans must, therefore, take into consideration the rights of ownership and possession of ICCs/IPs to their ancestral domains, which are recognized and protected under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (R.A. 8371).

These include their right of ownership; right to develop, control, and use lands and natural resources, including the right to negotiate the terms and conditions for the exploration of natural resource; right to stay in the territories, which means they cannot be relocated without their free and prior informed consent; and right to regulate entry of migrants, among others.

The State must uphold the rights and well-being of the ICCs and IPs. Development plans must not supersede their welfare, identity, and rights but must instead contribute to the strengthening and enhancement of their plight. ■