report ip rights_with personal notes

7/23/2019 Report IP Rights_with Personal Notes

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INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW

Understanding the wrd !Indigen"s Pe#$es%&

The most fruitful way is to identify, rather than define indigenous peoples.

Basis of understanding:

Self- identification as indigenous peoples at the individual level and accepted bythe community as their member

!istorical continuity with pre-colonial and"or pre-settler societies

Strong lin# to territories and surrounding natural resources

$istinct social, economic or political systems $istinct language, culture and beliefs

%orm non-dominant groups of society

&esolve to maintain and reproduce their ancestral environments and systems asdistinctive peoples and communities. - United Natins Per'anent (r"'n Indigen"s Pe#$es

'ndigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which, having ahistorical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on theirterritories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the societies nowprevailing on those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant

sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to futuregenerations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of theircontinued e(istence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, socialinstitutions and legal system.- Nether$ands Center )r Indigen"s Pe#$es

'ndigenous )ultural )ommunities"'ndigenous *eoples refer to a group of peopleor homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by other, who havecontinuously lived as organi+ed community on communally bounded and definedterritory, and who have, under claims of ownership since time immemorial, occupied,possessed customs, tradition and other distinctive cultural traits, or who have, throughresistance to political, social and cultural inroads of coloni+ation, non-indigenous

religions and culture, became historically differentiated from the maority of %ilipinos.'))s"'*s shall li#ewise include peoples who are regarded as indigenous on account oftheir descent from the populations which inhabited the country, at the time of conuestor coloni+ation, or at the time of inroads of non-indigenous religions and cultures, or theestablishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of their own social,economic, cultural and political institutions, but who may have been displaced fromtheir traditional domains or who may have resettled outside their ancestral domains-Indigen"s Pe#$s* Rights A+t ) ,--..

CULTURE AND KNOWLEDGE

'ndigenous peoples are the holders of uniue languages, #nowledge systems andbeliefs and possess invaluable #nowledge of practices for the sustainable management ofnatural resources. They have a special relation to and use of their traditional land. Theirancestral land has a fundamental importance for their collective physical and culturalsurvival as peoples. 'ndigenous peoples hold their own diverse concepts of development,based on their traditional values, visions, needs and priorities.


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POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

'ndigenous peoples often have much in common with other neglected segmentsof societies, i.e. lac# of political representation and participation, economic

marginali+ation and poverty, lac# of access to social services and discrimination. $espitetheir cultural differences, the diverse indigenous peoples share common problems alsorelated to the protection of their rights. They strive for recognition of their identities,their ways of life and their right to traditional lands, territories and natural resources.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION O( INDIGENOUS PEOPLESBased on /thnic 0roups1

NATIONAL LEGISLATIONS ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

The *hilippine )onstitution of 2345 e(plicitly recogni+es the rights of indigenouscultural communities. 6s stated in the )onstitution Section 77, 6rticle '':

The State recogni+es and promotes the rights of indigenous cultural communities

within the framewor# of national unity and development.

Section 8, 6rticle 9'': The State, subect to provisions of this )onstitution and nationaldevelopment policies and programs shall protect the rights of the indigenous culturalcommunities to their ancestral lands to ensure their economic, social and cultural well-being. The )ongress may provide for the applicability of customary laws governingproperty rights or relations in determining the ownership and e(tent of ancestraldomain.


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Section 28, 6rticle 9: There shall be created autonomous regions in uslim indanaoand the )ordilleras consisting of provinces, cities, municipalities and geographical areassharing common and distinctive historical and cultural heritage, economic and socialstructures, and other relevant characteristics within the framewor# of this )onstitution.

Section 24, 6rticle 9: The )ongress shall enact an organic act for each autonomousregion with the assistance and participation of the regional consultative commission;.The organic act shall define the basic structure of government for the region consistingof the e(ecutive department and legislative assembly;. The organic acts shall li#ewiseprovide for special courts with personal, family and property law urisdiction consistentwith the provisions of this )onstitution and national laws.

'ndigenous *eoples< &ights 6ct =The '*&6 of 2335 6> 6)T T? &/)?0>'@/, *&?T/)T6>$ *&??T/ T!/ &'0!TS ?% '>$'0/>?AS )ATA&6)?A>'T'/S"'>$'0/>?AS */?*/, )&/6T'>0 6 >6T'?>6 )?'SS'?>?% '>$'0/>?AS */?*/, /ST6B'S!'>0 '*//>T'>0 /)!6>'SS,6**&?*&'6T'>0 %A>$S T!/&/%?&, 6>$ %?& ?T!/& *A&*?S/S.

Sources:

21 '*&6 of 233571 2345 *hilippine )onstitutionC1 http:""www.un.org, >ovember 7D, 7D28E1 )ountry Technical >otes on 'ndigenous *eoples< 'ssues, Faueline )ariGo,

>ovember 7D2781 http:""indigenouspeoples.nl, >ovember 7D, 7D28

Throughout *hilippine history, the political attitude towards indigenous peoples andtheir rights have undergone many changes. $uring the colonial period, from 2872,indigenous peoples who were not assimilated into )hristianity were then called andidentified as the non-)hristian or savage tribes, and thus are the less enlightenedminorities of our population.

Since the declaration of *hilippine independence in 2434, it was only in the 235C)onstitution where indigenous peoples found their place in the country


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?ne policy that the *hilippines had not changed since its 23C8 )onstitution is the so-called &egalian $octrine. Ander this doctrine, all lands of the public domains, andnatural resources are owned by the State. Kith the e(ception of agricultural lands, allother natural resources shall not be alienated. The e(ploration, development, andutili+ation of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of theState. This legal doctrine recalls the time when all titles were valid only when it could beshown that it originated from a grant or sale from the )rown, or its conceptual heir, theState. Thus, even in those rare cases where indigenous peoples communities havemanaged to secure documents of title to their lands, they do not, by virtue of that titleacuire ownership or control of the natural resources found within the titled land. Thisproblem is further complicated by the fact that the government


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who engaged the government and got involved in policy advocacy wor#. There weregroups, the 'ndigenous *eoples groups and the advocates, who were strategicallyinvolved in all of these forms of struggle, at different levels and intensity.

The struggle to have a law that recogni+ed indigenous peoples rights to their lands wasnot an easy one. 6t first, the draft law that was submitted to )ongress sought to removefrom the public and private commercial domain the lands of indigenous peoples. 6t thattime, different indigenous organi+ations were consulted. The dictator arcos was ustoverthrown, and it was under the *residency of )ora+on 6uino when the draft law wasfirst submitted. Khile the draft was still pending, an administrative order was issued bythe $epartment of /nvironment and >atural &esources that recogni+ed claims bycommunities, and thus, their territories were delineated from other lands.

INTERNATIONAL E((ORTS

The Aniversal $eclaration on !uman &ights and the A> $eclaration on the &ights of'ndigenous *eoples provide the international framewor# for the recognition of

indigenous peoples rights. 'n addition, the *hilippines is a signatory to numerous

international conventions and declarations that are relevant for indigenous peoples.6mong these are the eight core international treaties on human rights, including:,/'nternational )ovenant on )ivil and *olitical &ights '))*&1

The ?ptional *rotocol to the 'nternational )ovenant on )ivil and *olitical&ights '))*&-?*21, which is administered by the !uman &ights )ommittee

The ?ptional *rotocol to the 'nternational )ovenant on )ivil and *olitical &ights'))*&-?*71, aimed at the abolition of the death penalty

0/'nternational )ovenant on /conomic, Social and )ultural &ights ')/S)&1

1. 'nternational )onvention on the 6bolition of 6ll %orms of &acial $iscrimination')/&$1

2/)onvention on the /limination of 6ll %orms of &acial $iscrimination againstKomen )/$6K1

- The ?ptional *rotocol to the )onvention on the /limination of 6ll %orms of$iscrimination against Komen )/$6K-?*1

3/ )onvention on the &ights of the )hild )&)1- The ?ptional *rotocol to the )onvention on the &ights of the )hild )&)-?*-6)1 on the involvement of children in armed conflict- The ?ptional *rotocol to the )onvention on the &ights of the )hild )&)-?*-?)1 on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography

4/)onvention against Torture and ?ther )ruel, 'nhuman or $egrading Treatmentor *unishment )6T1

./'nternational )onvention on the *rotection of 6ll igrant Kor#ers and embersof their %amilies )K1

5/)onvention on the &ights of *ersons with $isabilities

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