Twenty-six years after adopting the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997 or the IPRA law, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) continues to hurdle obstacles to attain smooth implementation of the law that protects the rights of the natives in Quirino province.
During the Tipon-Tipan sa PIA program, Harvey Pugong, legal officer and concurrently the officer-in-charge of NCIP-Quirino, admitted that they are still confronted with issues with their mandate to protect and promote the interest and well-being of the indigenous cultural communities about their beliefs, customs, traditions, and institutions.
He said that under the IPRA Law, ancestral domains are owned, occupied, or possessed by themselves or through their ancestors, communally or individually since time immemorial.
An Agta leader expresses his gratitude to the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples officials and the other national government agencies for their support to the IPs, especially the Agtas. He also appealed for more livelihood assistance to prevent them from doing unlawful activities such as hunting, kaingin, and logging for their survival. (Image by PIA)
“But, the ancestral domains are also within the jurisdiction of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) because these are under protected areas of Quirino. Some practices of the IPs are contrary to our national laws, especially on the livelihood aspects where kaingin and cutting of trees have become the source of livelihood among the IPs,” Pugong said.
In partnership with the DENR, the Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan for Quirino has been formulated for the economic development of the IPs.
“During our regular ancestral domain visitations, we were able to reconcile our programs and activities being implemented for the Indigenous Peoples, and the Agtas are already adopting more sustainable ways of farming in their areas,” Pugong shared.
Pugong also shared that some other migrant IPs who illegally settled in the ancestral domain of the Agtas last year were told to leave because the area belongs to the Agtas.
“We have issues on illegal migrants at the Agta ancestral domains so through the barangay officials, we scheduled a meeting. Together with the DENR, we went there and we crafted an agreement to encourage the illegal migrants to leave the area,” Pugong said.
Aside from the issues on welfare of the Agtas, the NCIP is also in the process of addressing the ongoing factionalism affecting the Bugkalot tribe through constant dialogues with the Bugkalot elders.
“Mayroon po kaming tinatawag na Indigenous Political Structure so dito po yung talagang made-determine natin kung sino ba talaga ang totoong chieftain ng Bugkalot na sila yung talagang magre-represent sa interest, sila yung titingin sa general welfare ng lahat ng Bugkalot,” he said.
Pugong said there are two groups who submitted documents for the confirmation of their political structure so their Central Office ordered the NCIP provincial and regional offices to conduct validation to evaluate the groups’ tradition, decision making and the processes of selecting their chieftain.
“We are now finalizing our report for submission to the Central Office for their decision,”Pugong said.
Pugong said that both groups were represented during the validation in Nagtipunan town of Quirino, Aurora province, and Nueva Vizcaya province.
Atty. Harvey A. Pugong (left), officer-in-charge of NCIP Quirino, and Kim Hagada, community development officer, discuss the issues and concerns of the Indigenous Peoples in Quirino province. (Image by PIA)
Kim Hagada, NCIP-Nagtipunan head, said there are two ancestral domains in the province, the Agtas and the Bugkalots, both found in Nagtipunan.
“The Agta families have their lands but there is only one title, the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title. They have areas for agricultural activities, potable water sources, and also burial sites,” Hagada said.
However, Hagada expressed dismay on cases where some IPs trade their lands for motorcycles, which is prohibited under the IPRA law.
“We explain to them that such activities to include selling and buying, mortgaging their lands are prohibited and anyone who is caught doing any of the said activities will pay P200,000 and will also be imprisoned,” he said.
Regarding the protection of the cultural integrity of the IPs, Hagada admitted that it is a burning issue among the Agtas and all IPs.
Indigenous Peoples of Quirino province actively participate in a forum organized by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples on the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act. (Image by PIA)
“I think almost IPs ay talagang pagdating sa kultura ay gumagamit sila ng iba’t ibang klaseng hayop pero mostly naman ay yung tulad po ng mga Tulali [at] Kalanguya sa Cordillera, mga baboy naman po at mga manok. Pero pagdating naman po sa ibang mga tradisyonal na kasuotan tulad po ng Bugkalot, mayroon po yung kalaw which is endangered na po, siyempre bawal po talaga,” Hagada said.
Hagada also shared that in one of his visits, he had witnessed the Agtas eating monkeys, which is very much prohibited.
“The Agtas believe that at their burial site, no one is allowed to enter and do hunting activities. After several years, they will enter the area and hunt for their food believing that the animals are blessings from their departed loved ones,” Hagada said.
However, Hagada said that as time goes by, the Agtas are slowly forgetting their harmful cultural practices and adopting what is acceptable under the law.
Hagada urged the IPs to unite for a stronger implementation of the IPRA law adding that the decision-making should be strengthened so that they can easily resolve problems in their ancestral domain.
The “Tipon-Tipan sa PIA program: Ugnayan ng Gobyerno at Mamayan”, hosted by the Philippine Information Agency is aired over 92.1 DWQP FM Radio every Wednesday from 10am to 11am.(OTB/JKC/TCB/PIA-2, QUIRINO)
