Ancestral domains

BANTAY GOBYERNO

Ike Seneres

Many people make the mistake of comparing our ancestral domains with the Indian Federal Reservations in the United States, as if these two are exactly the same with each other. There could be similarities between the two, but in reality, one is better than the other. Here in the Philippines, ancestral domains are granted Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs), thanks to the Indigenous Peoples Republic Act (IPRA) that was co-authored by the late Senator Juan Flavier and the hard working Congressman Ronald Cosalan of Benguet, both of whom trace their roots from indigenous peoples from Northern Luzon. The CADTs are issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), a government agency that was also created by the IPRA.

In contrast, the Indian Federal Reservations are not granted land titles, period. What that means is that the Indians who live in those reservations do not own the land, even if they are granted the rights to live there. Back here in the Philippines, the indigenous tribes that live in the ancestral domains actually own the lands that were granted to them. In effect, these tribes own their ancestral lands as if these are their private properties but unlike the regular private properties, they could only lease the land, but could not sell them. And even if these lands are leased to private persons or private companies, the elders of the tribes still have to be consulted as to the manner that these lands will be used or developed.

In a manner of speaking, the members of these tribes are actually rich in assets, considering the value of their communal landholdings. However, as everyone knows, most of them are still poor, and they live in tribal communities that are very much lacking in public services and physical facilities. In that sense, the members of the tribes who are residing in the Indian Federal Reservations would be richer in comparison, not only because of federal subsidies, but also because of their incomes from the operation of gambling casinos, a privilege or concession that is granted to them by the State governments where their reservations are located.

As it is commonly known, the national government does not give subsidies to the indigenous tribes, period. Their situation is similar to that of the farmers who were given land grants under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). They were given farmlands to till, but they were not given the inputs that were necessary to make their lands productive. Just like the CARP beneficiaries, the CADT beneficiaries now have to go on their own, to look for investors or donors who could make their lands productive, on top of the challenge to provide public services and build physical facilities for the use of their members.

The Dominion of Canada looks at its indigenous peoples from a totally different perspective. Canada has a law that recognizes the rights of the so-called “First Nations”, the Indian tribes that settled in that country long before the English, the French and the other settlers arrived. Under that law, the “First Nations” have to be consulted about new laws before these are passed, seemingly as a courtesy for them. In a manner of speaking, we could actually say that the Negrito tribes are the “First Nations” in the Philippines, because they were already here long before the Malays and the Indonesians arrived here. It is unlikely that they will be consulted before new laws are passed here, but the least we could do is to provide them with development assistance so that their quality of life will be at par with the rest of their compatriots.

Mr. Chito Balintay is the leader of a Negrito tribe that resides in four barangays in Botolan, Zambales Province. Thanks to the IPRA, their tribe has been granted a CADT covering about 15,000 hectares in a mountainous area there that coincidentally includes Mount Pinatubo. Locally called the “Ayta” people, they have already registered their cooperative with the Cooperatives Development Authority (CDA) and their community association with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). Due to their own diligence, the tribe now has all the legal instruments that they need to move on with their own development, combining the CADT, the CDA and the SEC certifications.

 Being an active participant in United Nations (UN) working groups for indigenous peoples, Mr. Balintay found it very easy to appreciate the Human Development Index (HDI) as I explained it to him. The HDI is an international metric used by the UN to measure three development indicators, namely literacy, longevity and prosperity, the latter being a measure of the quality of life. The HDI is usually used to measure the performance of nations, but this time around, we are going to use it to measure the progress of development within their ancestral domain, after bringing in development programs for education, health and livelihood.

 Using Information and Communications Technology (ICT), we are going to introduce distance learning, telemedicine and electronic commerce. A number of companies and organizations have already committed to support this initiative that will combine the best of internet cloud technologies, the internet of things (IOT), broadband and wireless connectivity. ICT is actually the “blue” component of a “Green and Blue” (GAB) framework that we will also implement in Botolan, “Green” being the color of agriculture and environment, and “Blue” being the color of energy and connectivity.

 On the practical side, the Alternative Learning System (ALS) of the Department of Education (DEPED) is going to be the legal basis for putting up community schools in the ancestral domain. As long as there is a signal for wireless connectivity, it would be very easy to deliver distance learning through a Learning Management System (LMS). Using the same wireless connectivity, it would also be easy to bring in telemedicine and electronic commerce, the latter being the means to sell products that would support livelihood projects, the key to prosperity.

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