IPRA Law

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.