With the recent passage of the National Land Use Act (NLUA) in the Lower House, indigenous peoples and land use constituencies gathered in a roundtable discussion (RTD) on “Indigenous Peoples’ Agenda in the NLUA” in Quezon City, Manila last 10 April 2018.
The roundtable discussion focused on the implications of the NLUA on IP rights most especially in the areas of customary and legal ownership, recognition and land-related conflict resolution. It also sought to connect and strengthen IPs and land use constituencies towards the goal to resolve land-related conflicts and to uphold IPs’ self-determination over their ancestral domain through advocacy for the passage of NLUA.
As part of the program, Mr. Dave de Vera of Philippine Association for Inter-Cultural Development (PAFID) discussed the salient features of the NLUA and its implications to IP communities.
Engr. Jeanette Manuela and Mr. Agot Panganiban of the Ancestral Domains Office (ADO) of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) talked about the existing initiatives of the NCIP on the promotion of IP’s self-determination over their ancestral domains.
Lastly, Atty. Jing Corpuz of Tebtebba Foundation tackled points for advocacy in the proposed revisions to the Joint DAR-DENR-LRA-NCIP Administrative Order, No. 01, Series of 2012 (JAO 1) outlining the jurisdiction and policy mandates of the said agencies on overlapping land claims within ancestral domains.
Usec Gerard Salapantan of PLLO expresses support for the passage of NLUA.
The RTD concluded with participants’ discussion on the the plans in advancing the NLUA Bill in the Upper House. Representatives from the Philippine Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) shared that the NLUA is targeted to pass by the fourth quarter of the year. PLLO expressed their commitment in exploring for possible linkages of CLUP Now! with the Upper House.
The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Kaunlaran ng Kanayunan at Repormang Pansakahan (KAISAHAN), Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA), NGOs for Fisheries Reform (NFR), Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), John J. Carroll Institute on Church and Social Issues (JJCICSI), Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Samahan sa Kanayunan (PKSK), and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Philippines also participated in the event.
ANGOC, CLUP Now!, and ILC-NES Philippines organized this event, which is the first among a series of roundtable discussions that aims to examine how the various sectors and stakeholders can secure benefits from, and strengthen the campaign for the passage of NLUA.
