Indigenous Peoples’ Right Act (IPRA) 0f the Philippines
The Indigenous
Peoples’ Right Act (IPRA) of the Philippines was signed into law on
29 October 1997 after undergoing many years of legislative study and
deliberation. The IPRA is the result of various consultations, consolidated
bills related to ancestral domains and lands, and international agreements on
the recognition of land/domain rights of the Indigenous Peoples (IPs).
The Metagora
activity in the Philippines
consists of a small but incisive survey-based study implemented in three
northern regions of the country with a high concentration of indigenous peoples.
The objective of this pilot project was to develop evidence-based assessment
methods and tools combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. The study
aimed to measure four aspects of the rights of indigenous peoples to their
ancestral domains and lands: the indigenous peoples’ perceptions and awareness
of their rights, the enjoyment or violations of these rights, the government
measures and customary laws for the realization of these rights, and the
availability of mechanisms for redressing violations or fulfilling rights. This
activity’s relevance for policy is strong, as the national policy at stake is
the implementation of the IPRA, entered into force to address the
marginalization and powerlessness of the communities of indigenous peoples,
estimated to be one-sixth of the national population of the Philippines.
This Act intends to redress a historical injustice against indigenous peoples,
whose rights, cultural identity and ancestral lands were alienated by means of
application of the feudal jura regalia
by the Spanish Crown, by de facto,
their successors, the American colonial government, and then by the Philippine
Republic. For the first time, IPRA settles the rights of indigenous peoples and
establishes bases for a proactive public policy, including implementation
mechanisms and the allocation of funds. IPRA recognizes and promotes: the
rights of indigenous peoples to ancestral domains and lands; the right to
self-governance; economic and social rights; and cultural integrity, including
indigenous culture, traditions and institutions.
Up to 15 percent
of the Philippine population – about ten million people – belong to distinct
indigenous communities and retain a close link with their traditions. They
avoided Hispanisation during Spain’s
350-year colonization of the Philippines.
In 1987, after the fall of Marcos regime, a revised Philippine Constitution
recognized the ancestral land rights of indigenous people, and ten years later
in 1997, those rights finally became law in the Indigenous Peoples’ Right Act.
The Indigenous
Peoples’ Right Act (IPRA) is modeled on the provisions of the UN Draft
Declaration on Indigenous Peoples’ Right. In theory IPRA is one of the most
enlightened laws dealing with Indigenous Peoples, recognizing the free prior
and informed consent (FPIC) of Indigenous Peoples, and asserting that in the
absence of such a clear level of consent, a project cannot proceed. In practice,
however, this is regularly undermined, not least by legislation such as the
1995 Mining Code, which in many cases gives mining claims to the same
Indigenous land supposedly covered by IPRA. Indigenous Peoples communities and
organizations, and their supporters, have been vocal in fighting for their
legal rights for many years, and the struggle continues.