INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S WATCH
Ibalois, Victims of
Historical Injustice
Laws failed to recognize ancestral land rights
The indigenous
inhabitants of Baguio City, the Ibalois, remain victims of historical
injustice as a colonially-inspired land system continues to deprive them
of their rights to their ancestral land despite the enactment of a state
law to recognize land rights by native title.
BY ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat
BAGUIO CITY (246 kms.
north of Manila) – The indigenous inhabitants of this tourist destination,
the Ibalois, remain victims of historical injustice as a
colonially-inspired land system continues to deprive them of their rights
to their ancestral land despite the enactment of a state law to recognize
land rights by native title.
In an interview,
Baguio City Councilor Jose Mencio Molintas said the U.S. Supreme Court
recognized the rights of the Ibalois over their lands in Baguio through
its earlier decision known as the Cariño Doctrine, but vestiges of the
American colonial land system continue to deprive them of their land
rights.
The Cariño Doctrine
is institutionalized under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 or RA
8371, a law that supposedly will recognize the ancestral land and domain
rights of indigenous peoples nationwide, according to Molintas, the lone
Ibaloi member of the Baguio City Council. The IPRA was passed on Oct. 29,
1997.
Molintas shared that
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) issued
Certificates of Ancestral Land Claims (CALCS) to ancestral land claimants
prior to the passage of the IPRA in 1997. The DENR issuance was based on
the agency’s Special Orders Nos. 31 and 31-A and Administrative Order No.
2. These issued CALCs are to be processed before the National Commission
on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) as Certificates on Ancestral Land Title or
CALT, clarified Molintas.
Molintas pointed out
that Section 78 of IPRA is a legal barrier for the recognition of the
Ibalois ancestral lands, as it states that Baguio City shall remain
governed by its charter.
City Charter
Introduced by the
American colonizers in 1906, the Town Site Sales Application (TSA) of the
City Charter is based on Section 79 of Commonwealth Act 141 which mandates
that the sale of alienable lands of the public domain within the Town Site
Reservations be done by a public bidding and awarded to the highest
bidder.
Geraldine Cacho, an
urban poor leader, pointed out in a separate interview that the TSA
favored the moneyed and was clearly “anti-poor.” She cited that the large
part of the city's town site reservations will be subjected for bidding.
Cacho cited government data showing that 32.9 percent are classified as
residential, commercial, industrial and institutional while 66 percent are
open space.
This TSA system
institutionalized non-recognition of Ibalois’ ancestral lands. This was
strengthened by Section 78 of the IPRA, said Molintas, who suggested that
legislative measures be enacted to address this “injustice.”
Slow CALT issuance
Molintas also
explained that the DENR issued CALCs to ancestral land claimants,
including those in the city. These issued CALCs can be processed into
CALTs by the NCIP after the IPRA took effect.
Nordis learned from
the NCIP-Baguio office that 121 CALTs has been deliberated on and approved
by the NCIP en banc. The NCIP en banc also had approved the sole
CADT application of the Happy Hallow community. These CALTs and CADT would
be issued to beneficiaries after these would be processed and registered
by the Land Registration Authority.
Data show that the
processing of these certificates into CALT has been very slow.
“The attachment of
the NCIP to another agency has slowed down the issuance of CALT,” Molintas
added when asked why the processing took so long.
Molintas iterated
that while the Cariño Doctrine originated from a case in Baguio, ancestral
land rights remain an issue that must be addressed by the government
particularly that other land-related issues in the city are evolving and
needs to be addressed urgently in appropriate programs and policy.
The Cariño Doctrine
recognized Mateo Cariño's land rights to what is now known as Club John
Hay.
Meanwhile, urban poor
leaders say that the bill to amend the city charter introduced by Rep.
Mauricio Domogan fails to address the land problem and instead strengthens
the TSA system. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat
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