BAGUIO CITY – The implementation of the pertinent provisions of Republic Act (RA) 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) was able to empower indigenous peoples (IPs) and indigenous cultural communities (ICCs) to fight for their rights over their ancestral domain, their right to be recognized as a people and for them to be heard in the development of their domain, a top NCIP-CAR official said here recently.
Lawyer Roland Calde, NCIP-CAR regional director, said the recognition of IPs as a people also gave birth to the sustainable preservation and protection of the rich culture and traditions of the various tribes that inhabit the indigenous cultural communities not only in the region but also in the different parts of the country.
“The IPRA is a tool for indigenous peoples to be able to fight for their rights over their ancestral domain. We are happy that we were able to see how the situation of IPs and ICCs improved over the past two decades with the existence of the IPRA that empowered them to fight for their lands and their rights to their domain,” Calde stressed.
It should be noted though that was the struggle of indigenous peoples, through various means including the lobbying for the recognition of ancestral domain in the drafting of the 1987 Constitution, that gave rise to the IPRA.
He explained the preservation and protection of the domain of IPs and ICCs is anchored on the sustainable efforts to value the contribution of their rich culture and traditions through the recognition of their right to their ancestral domain, to the evolution of the IPRA which was passed and took effect in November 1997 primarily geared towards sustainable economic their domain that will also translate to their improved living condition.
However, the IPRA is much more than the promotion of economic development. More importantly, it gives recognition of the right of indigenous peoples to self-determined development – the right to say no to developments that come to their communities, their right to define and craft their own social, political, cultural and economic development.
While there are some indigenous communities that encountered problems related to various programs and projects that affect their domain, Calde said because of the IPRA, IPs and ICCs are able to find solutions to their own conflicts through consensus-building that result in positive outcomes in the development of their domains.
According to him, the Cordillera is predominantly inhabited by indigenous peoples and indigenous cultural communities with different customs and traditions but their commonalities in terms of culture have significantly resulted in their being receptive to the introduction of programs and projects in their domain that positively impact on their living condition.
Calde expressed confidence that the present and future generations of indigenous peoples living multi-cultural communities will be able to pass on their rich culture and traditions to sustain the culture and traditions passed on to them by their ancestors.
He claimed the adherence of IPs and ICCs to their traditional practices reflects the importance of transmitting to the upcoming generations the simple but practical ways of survival and protecting the environment within their ancestral domain from being ravaged by enterprising developers wanting to exploit, develop and utilize their natural resources.
By HENT
