YASUDA_POSITION_PAPER.docx.pdf

Mountain View College
School of Arts and Sciences
General Education Department
Name: Yasuda, Mika
Class Schedule: MW 1:30-3:00
PHILIPPINE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES
Final Requirement
Assessment of IP Issues and Concerns: A Position Paper
Instructions: Please provide your position (assessment and recommendations) and cite UNDRIP provisions on every items provided below (see Moodle for the attachment
of the UNDRIP file). Also, please cite the sources and references you can utilize. You may also search further supplemental articles and any reports for the issues provided.
ISSUES POSITION
(Assessment and Recommendation)
UNDRIP
(United Nations Declaration on the
Right of Indigenous People)
SOURCES/REFERENCES
A number of Dulangan-Manobos are being
made laborers/farm workers without pay
within Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM)
We all know that all laborers and workers
have the right to receive an appropriate
amount of consideration in exchange for the
service they have rendered. There were no
article that supports this issue but it seems
that in this case, the people are given no free
will but made laborers or workers. Because
why would people work in a place where
there is no pay at all? It might be that the
region are acquiring labors by force. A region
where laborers are performing their services
but are given no pay. Therefore, we can
assume that the region is somewhat not a fair
country.
The people should seek help from authorities
such as labor groups that will help them fight
for their rights. Labor groups would refer to
wage laws that were mandated to determine
Article 17
1. Indigenous individuals and peoples
have the right to enjoy fully all rights
established under applicable
international and domestic labor law.
3. Indigenous individuals have the right
not to be subjected to any discriminatory
conditions of labor and, inter alia,
employment or salary.
Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao. (n.d.). Retrieved
December 1, 2020, from
https://nwpc.dole.gov.ph/regionandw
ages/autonomous-region-in-muslim-
mindanao/

and fix the minimum wage rates applicable in
the Bangsamoro Region. People should also
seek help from the regional authorities and
address their concerns. Furthermore, they
should fight for their rights themselves by
joining together and addressing their
complaints together to their heads.
Grabbing of ancestral lands by both Moros
and settlers
This issue started way back where an Islamic
group indigenous to the Philippine island of
Mindanao, or known as Moros, being exiled by
the post-World War II invasion of Christian
Filipino Settlers from other islands. The heirs
of the lands were being deprived of the right
of owning their ancestral lands by the said
settlers. Consequently, large areas of land
demanded by Moro and other IPs have been
occupied and titled by Christian settlers. This
issue is still relevant and has a wide political
significance. Moreover, it reflects competing
interest of such extent that they cannot be
easily resolved through the existing argument
resolution mechanisms.
In spite of all these, there are possible
initiatives to resolve land conflicts through
negotiation and establishment of community
ties. Bearing in mind the informal judicial
mechanisms as a main tool for land dispute
resolution should be stressed in any effort to
address land conflict in BARMM. A committed
institution to determine land conflicts may be
crucial to more stoutly tackle the prevailing
problem.
Furthermore, an alternative way to address
this issue is to seek help from the authority to
Article 8
2. States shall provide effective
mechanisms for prevention of, and
redress for:
(b) Any action which has the aim or
effect of dispossessing them of their
lands, territories or resources;
Article 10
Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly
removed from their lands or territories.
No relocation shall take place without
the free, prior and informed consent of
the indigenous peoples concerned and
after agreement on just and fair
compensation and, where possible, with
the option of return.
Article 26
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to
the lands, territories and resources
which they have traditionally owned,
occupied or otherwise used or acquired.
own, use, develop and control the lands,
territories and resources that they
possess by reason of traditional
ownership or other traditional
occupation or use, as well as those which
Land Disputes In Conflict Affected Areas
Of Mindanao: Report Of The Joint
World Bank – International
Organization For Migration Scoping
Mission. (2013, May). Retrieved
https://www.iom.int/files/live/sites/io
m/files/What-We-Do/docs/Land-
Disputes-in-Conflict-Affected-
Areas-of-Mindanao.pdf

help them regain protect their lost lands. They
can seek help from the land commission or
directly from the government or appropriate
authority officials to arbitrate.
they have otherwise acquired.
3. States shall give legal recognition and
protection to these lands, territories and
resources. Such recognition shall be
conducted with due respect to the
customs, traditions and land tenure
systems of the indigenous peoples
concerned.
Article 27
States shall establish and implement, in
conjunction with indigenous peoples
concerned, a fair, independent, impartial,
open and transparent process, giving due
recognition to indigenous peoples’ laws,
traditions, customs and land tenure
systems, to recognize and adjudicate the
rights of indigenous peoples pertaining
to their lands, territories and resources,
including those which were traditionally
owned or otherwise occupied or used.
Indigenous peoples shall have the right
to participate in this process.
Illegal land titling issued by DENR to Moro A situation where an individual who is
superior, powerful, and more educated that’s
takes advantage on the weaker ones, is
common thing that is happening in our world.
This endeavors are usually the case
particularly when we talk about land
ownership. This undertaking occurs when the
said superior and more powerful person
would register a particular land to his name,
and that same land is being claimed by
another person.
Circumstances when property being used by
Article 10
Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly
removed from their lands or territories.
No relocation shall take place without
free, prior and informed consent of the
indigenous peoples concerned and after
agreement on just and fair compensation
and, where possible, with the option of
return.
Article 18
Indigenous peoples have the right to

the government for the benefit of the public
such as public roads, school sites, hospital
sites as an exclusion, every person has a right
to their property to enjoy it. The indigenous
people has a right to enjoy the property
according to law.
To give a background about the issue, this
happens when there is someone who already
secures the land and occupies it but the title is
being given to the Moros. However, according
to the law, IPs have the right to own, use,
develop and control the lands, territories, and
resources that they possess by reason of
traditional ownership or other traditional
occupation or use, as well as those which they
have otherwise acquired. Therefore, it is
indeed inappropriate to issue an illegal land
title for the reason that it takes away the
rights of the defenseless IPs.
The government should be well-founded in
abiding with the standards, guidelines and
laws they set relating to the safety and
security of lands, the ancestral lands of the IPs
in order to prevent these illegal doings.
participate in decision-making in
matters which would affect their rights,
through representatives chosen by
themselves in accordance with their own
procedures, as well as to maintain and
develop their own indigenous decision-
making institutions.
Article 26
which they have traditionally owned,
occupied or otherwise used or acquired.
own, use, develop and control the lands,
territories and resources that they
possess by reason of traditional
ownership or other traditional
occupation or use, as well as those which
they have otherwise acquired.
3. States shall give legal recognition and
protection to these lands, territories and
resources. Such recognition shall be
conducted with due respect to the
customs, traditions and land tenure
systems of the indigenous peoples
concerned.
Article 27
States shall establish and implement, in
conjunction with indigenous peoples
concerned, a fair, independent, impartial,
open and transparent process, giving due
recognition to indigenous peoples’ laws,

traditions, customs and land tenure
systems, to recognize and adjudicate the
rights of indigenous peoples pertaining
to their lands, territories and resources,
including those which were traditionally
owned or otherwise occupied or used.
Indigenous peoples shall have the right
to participate in this process.
Article 28
redress, by means that can include
restitution or, when this is not possible,
just, fair and equitable compensation, for
which they have traditionally owned or
otherwise occupied or used, and which
have been confiscated, taken, occupied,
used or damaged without their free,
prior and informed consent.
2. Unless otherwise freely agreed upon
by the peoples concerned, compensation
shall take the form of lands, territories
and resources equal in quality, size and
legal status or of monetary
compensation or other appropriate
redress.
Threats to security of IPs in barangays
along the boundaries of the Moro
barangays, outside their ancestral domain
It is common that there would be conflicts
between two distinct tribes particularly when
they are just residing next to each other. The
causes of such events which result into
conflicts may vary. Such as, in Basilan, there
are still several lands that are untitled up until
now, which resulted to a variance of opinion
about land claims and political boundaries
between the Moro barangays and other
Article 7
1. Indigenous individuals have the rights
to life, physical and mental integrity,
liberty and security of person.
2. Indigenous peoples have the collective
right to live in freedom, peace and
security as distinct peoples and shall not

Indigenous Peoples.
We all know that the government is doing
what they can to address different issues and
especially the ones where the public security
and safety is being at risk. Although a specific
group of indigenous people is not in their
ancestral land, they are still protected by the
existing laws relating to the safety and
security of the IPs. That is a reason why the
government is conducting certain efforts to
preserve the peace between the Moro and the
IPs by means of making a peace treaty
between the said parties.
The authorities or government and the LGU
should work together hand in hand to help
both the Moros and the IPs in order to secure
the safety of the other IPs and also to assure
that the peace treaty is being tolerated to
circumvent any disagreements that could
arise and perchance lead to the public safety
and security impairment.
be subjected to any act of genocide or
any other act of violence, including
forcibly removing children of the group
to another group.
Article 37
the recognition, observance and
enforcement of treaties, agreements and
other constructive arrangements
concluded with States or their
successors and to have States honor and
respect such treaties, agreements and
other constructive arrangements.
2. Nothing in this Declaration may be
interpreted as diminishing or
eliminating the rights of indigenous
peoples contained in treaties,
agreements and other constructive
arrangements.
Reported cases of harassment by
Bangsamoro Islamic Federation Fighters
(BIFF)
Harassment is any improper and/or
unwelcome behavior that might reasonably
be expected or perceived to be offensive or
humiliating to another person. This is
happening almost everywhere and we should
not tolerate this behavior of a person. There
are lots of reported case of harassment by
Bangsamoro Islamic Federation Fighters
Article 1
Indigenous peoples have the right to the
full enjoyment, as a collective or as
individuals, of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms as recognized in
the Charter of the United Nations, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Gotinga, J. (2020, December 04).
Suspected BIFF members attack
police station in Datu Piang,
Maguindanao. Retrieved December
6, 2020, from
https://www.rappler.com/nation/susp

(BIFF). Those cases mentioned about
harassment and also the violence they have
caused. The reasons behind those actions can
be related to the objective of BIFF as they seek
an independent Islamic state for the Filipino
Muslim minority, or also known as the Moro
people. Due to poverty and they wanted to
make a change, it eventually resulted to the
establishment of the said group and they
would fight, even the government, to achieve
their goals.
Their actions cannot be justified despite what
their goals or objectives are. There are
innocent people who were affected. Moreover,
threat or violence should not be used as a tool
to achieve your goals.
The people should seek security and
protection from the authority or government.
If BIFF continues what they’re doing then it is
not safe for the people and so it should be
stopped by means of peacemaking.
and international human rights law.
Article 2
Indigenous peoples and individuals are
free and equal to all other peoples and
individuals and have the right to be free
from any kind of discrimination, in the
exercise of their rights, in particular that
based on their indigenous origin or
identity.
Article 7
1. Indigenous individuals have the rights
to life, physical and mental integrity,
liberty and security of person.
ected-biff-members-attack-police-
station-datu-piang-maguindanao
United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees. (n.d.). Education Under
Attack 2018 - The Philippines.
Retrieved December 6, 2020, from
https://www.refworld.org/docid/5be9
42ffa.html
Mapping Militant Organizations:
Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom
Fighters. (n.d.). Retrieved December
6, 2020, from
https://web.stanford.edu/group/mapp
ingmilitants/cgi-
bin/groups/print_view/601
The first Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) attempt in a plenary session for a separate section of the BTC was able to come up with 9 articles, 145 sections and 1
preamble:
Art. 1. Sec. 2. Name.
On the term “Bangsamoro”, the proposed
name of the political entity under the
Basic Law.
Some IPs do not want to be referred as
Bangsamoro.
There are various reasons why some IPs do
not want to be referred as Bangsamoro. The
term Bangsamoro refers collectively to the
Islamized ethnolinguistic groups of Mindanao,
Sulu, and Palawan. So it serves as an identity
of a particular group of people, which are
primarily composed of Muslims. There are
also cases where people will identify an
individual as Bangsamoro just because
he/she lives in the area where mostly the
Bangsamoro resides, even though he/she is
not a Muslim and some IPs do not like that. An
additional possible reason is that they want to
Article 13
revitalize, use, develop and transmit to
future generations their histories,
languages, oral traditions, philosophies,
writing systems and literatures, and to
designate and retain their own names for
communities, places and persons.
Article 33
determine their own identity or
The Bangsamoro Identity Struggle and the
Bangsamoro Basic Law as the Path
to Peace. (n.d.). Retrieved December
8, 2020, from https://
www.jstor.org/stable/26458484?
seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

be recognized as who they really are because
they have their own distinctiveness and they
do not want to be just generalized and be
identified as Bangsamoro people.
According to the law, each tribe has their own
identity and name and they have the right to
retain and preserve their own identity.
Individuals should recognize the fact that
there are diverse tribes residing in the same
areas and generalization must be stopped.
Furthermore, they should respect how other’s
identity matters to them and so we need to
understand them. Some IPs would go to the
extremes just to protect and preserve their
identity. That is how their identity means so
much to them.
membership in accordance with their
customs and traditions. This does not
impair the right of indigenous
individuals to obtain citizenship of the
States in which they live.
Art. 5. Powers of Government.
Sec.3. Exclusive Powers.
Par. 30. Ancestral lands and natural
resources shall be lodged under the
exclusive powers of ARMM. The
Bangsamoro parliament shall
create Bangsamoro programs for the IPs.
Thus, it will no longer fall within the
jurisdiction of the
NCIP.
The basis of democracy is participation of the
citizens. To make effective and quality
decisions, decision makers should first have
enough understanding of the concerns and
interest of the people. The main concern in
this struggle is for the recognition of the state
(BARMM) to the rights of IPs to their
ancestral domains, customary laws and self-
governance besides their civil and political
rights as citizens of the BARMM and the
Philippines, altogether. The IP provisions offer
only common principles. The specifics have to
be brought out to the regional legislations.
The government recognizes the problem of
the IPs under the BARMM where applicable
laws for the exercise of their rights were
uncertain, inadequate, and poorly executed.
According to Article V Section 3, the
Bangsamoro administration keeps special
powers over Ancestral Domains and natural
resources. Additionally, under Article XII
Article 5
maintain and strengthen their distinct
political, legal, economic, social and
cultural institutions, while retaining
their right to participate fully, if they so
choose, in the political, economic, social
and cultural life of the State.
___________________________________
ARTICLE V
POWERS OF GOVERNMENT
Section 1. Reserved Powers. – Reserved
powers are matters over which authority
and jurisdiction are retained by the
Seventeenth Congress Second Regular
Session. (n.d.). Retrieved December
11, 2020, from https://
www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2
018/ra_11054_2018.html
Vina, A. (2015, May 27). RIVERMAN’S
VISTA: Better but still lacking – IP
rights in BBL. Retrieved December
11, 2020, from https://
www.mindanews.com/mindaviews/2
015/05/rivermans-vista-better-but-
still-lacking-ip-rights-in-bbl/

Section 11, ensuring that Indigenous Peoples
communities benefit from these resources is a
task again for the Bangsamoro parliament.
There should be a proper legal and
institutional arrangements to be established
to deal with land issues. Also, several powers
on land administration system should be
rationalized and associated. The multiple
administration system committed by LRA,
LMB, FMB, DAR, and NCIP is another issue
that needs to be addressed to the appropriate
authorities. Furthermore, rights of IPs for
their ancestral domains should be respected,
and reimbursement and allocation measures
should also be established.
Central Government. The Central
Government shall exercise the following
reserved powers: 1. Defense and external
security; 2. Foreign policy; 3. Coinage
and Monetary Policy; 4. Postal service; 5.
Citizenship and naturalization; 6.
Immigration; 7. Customs and tariff as
qualified by Section 2(10), Article V of
this Basic Law; 8. Common market and
global trade, provided that the power to
enter into economic agreements given to
the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao under R.A. 9054 7 is hereby
transferred to the Bangsamoro
Government as provided in Article XII,
Section 27 of this Basic Law; and 9.
Intellectual property rights.
Section 3. Exclusive Powers. - Exclusive
powers are matters over which authority
and jurisdiction shall pertain to the
Bangsamoro Government. The
Bangsamoro Government shall exercise
these powers over the following matters
within the Bangsamoro:
30. Protection of the rights of the
indigenous people in the Bangsamoro in
accordance with the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, and taking into account in
addition to economic and geographical
criteria, their individual and communal
property rights, cultural integrity,
customary beliefs, historical and
community traditions. The Bangsamoro
Parliament shall create an appropriate
office or ministry for the Indigenous

Peoples, which shall be part of the
Bangsamoro Cabinet to develop and
implement the Bangsamoro programs
for the indigenous peoples in accordance
with a law passed by the Parliament;
Art. 5. Sec. 4. Other Exclusive Powers (BBL
vs. IPRA, “judicial affirmation” vs. common
law – degree of evidence is very high;
will the court able to understand
traditional systems?)
Traditional laws states the content and
derivatives of the native title and it is
recognized and observed by the Indigenous
inhabitants of a territory. The nature and
incidents of the native title must be firmed
and determined as a matter of fact by
reference towards those custom and laws.
IPRA, UNDRIP,BBL, or what we refer as Legal
instruments and case laws have
acknowledged the native title to the
traditional lands of indigenous peoples and
obligated the governments to regulate those
lands, in accordance with the indigenous
people‘s customary laws and practices.
Concerning the judicial affirmation to be
made in proving the rights of indigenous
people to their lands, there is a suspicion that
the consequences may erode further the
indigenous land rights. It perchance will also
provide accesses for thorough people to take
advantage of the insufficiency of resources of
indigenous communities to apply for judicial
titling.
Likewise, the IPRA recognizes the
fundamental right of indigenous peoples to
self-governance and self-determination and it
respects the integrity of their values, practices
and institutions.
In the BBL, relating to this issue, it was stated
Article 5
maintain and strengthen their distinct
political, legal, economic, social and
cultural institutions, while retaining
their right to participate fully, if they so
choose, in the political, economic, social
and cultural life of the State.
___________________________________
Section 4. Other Exclusive Powers. The
following vested powers and
competencies previously granted to the
Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao under R.A. No. 6734, as
amended by R.A. No. 9054, are hereby
transferred to the Bangsamoro
Government as part of its exclusive
powers
d) To recognize constructive or
traditional possession of lands and
resources by indigenous people subject
to judicial affirmation, the petition for
which shall be instituted within a period
of ten (10) years from the effectivity of
this Basic Law. The procedure for judicial
affirmation of imperfect titles under
existing laws shall, as far as practicable,
apply to the judicial affirmation of titles
Seventeenth Congress Second Regular
Session. (n.d.). Retrieved December
12, 2020, from https://
www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2
018/ra_11054_2018.html
The Citizen. (2015). Retrieved December
12, 2020, from https://
issuu.com/theateneoassemblycitizen/
docs/the_citizen_final2

that the Bangsamoro Government recognizes
the rights of the indigenous peoples, and that
it shall assume the processes for the
protection of their rights, customs, traditions,
indigenous political structures, justice
systems and indigenous political structures.
to ancestral lands;
f) The Bangsamoro Parliament shall
have the following powers:
1. To enact legislation on the rights of the
people of the Bangsamoro to initiate
measures for the passage, amendment,
or repeal of regional or local legislation;
to be consulted on matters that affect
their environment; to call for a
referendum on important issues
affecting their lives; and, on initiatives;
2. To conduct inquiries or public
consultations in aid of legislation in
accordance with its rules. In connection
therewith, it shall have the power to
issue subpoena or subpoena duces
tecum to compel the attendance of
witnesses and the production of papers,
documents, or things by witnesses or
persons under investigation by the
Parliament, itself, or by any of its
committees. It shall also have the right to
cite witnesses or persons under
investigation for contempt for refusal to
testify before it or before any of its
committees, or to produce papers,
documents or things required by the
Parliament or any of its committees. The
rights of persons appearing in or affected
by such inquiries shall be respected;
3. To enact a law that would allow the
Chief Minister, Speaker of the Parliament,
and the Presiding Justice of the
Bangsamoro Shari'ah High Court to
augment any item in the Bangsamoro
General Appropriations Law for their

respective offices from savings in other
items of their respective appropriations;
4. Within the competencies of the
Bangsamoro Government, to enact a law
that shall regulate the grant of franchises
and concessions, and empower the Chief
Minister to grant leases, permits, and
licenses over agricultural lands and for
forest management;

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