12/06/2026
๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ. ๐ก๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฐ๐ผ ๐ท๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ธ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ป๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐๐/๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐๐ฒ, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ผ๐-๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐
Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) from Bukidnon raised key concerns before top government officials, church leaders, and human rights advocates over overlapping land jurisdictions, bypassed Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), and corporate displacement during a forum held in Cagayan de Oro City.
The forum, "Conversations on Land and Life: Dialogue among IP Communities, NCIP and other Stakeholders,", was held at Cronin Hall, St. Augustine Cathedral Compound last June 11, and was led by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).
In her message, NCIP Chairperson and Secretary Nancy Catamco said that she will push for a "sweeping mandate" for internal reform and concrete inter-agency deadlines.
โI am not just an advocate, I am an IP myself,โ Sec. Catamco said, emphasizing the need to strengthen the agencyโs capacity, resources, and institutional mechanisms in responding to ancestral domain concerns.
Reversing a history of bureaucratic inertia, Catamco committed to an upcoming high-level meeting with the Land Registration Authority (LRA) on July 6, 2026, to resolve long-overdue Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) registrations.
She further vowed to elevate NCIP's structural bottlenecks directly to the President and pursue the reinstatement of the Joint Administrative Order (JAO) with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to handle overlapping instruments.
During the dialogue, Felix Vergara Jr., a sociologist presented the situational analysis through the lens of the Indigenous Peoplesโ Rights Act (IPRA) and the Cariรฑo doctrine, stated that peace initiatives fail because state actors lean heavily on military suppression instead of addressing the actual root cause of conflict: the tenurial insecurity of seasonal IP farmers.
Five major Bukidnon IP groups, including the Kibaritan Farmers, Manobo-Pulangiyon (KIANTEG), HIMATA KAD, MILALITTRA, and UKIMTRICO, presented common concerns affecting their communities, including:
- Overlapping Issuances: Conflicting CADTs, Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs), and patents causing intense local conflict.
- Weaponized Lawsuits: Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) used to target community defenders.
- Ecological and Physical Displacement: Aggressive commercial agriculture (such as agarwood, oil palm, and banana plantations) destroying local ecosystems, and
- Bypassed Sovereignty: Routine violation of FPIC processes and biased selection of Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representatives (IPMRs).
Amnesty International, participating in a direct dialogue with the NCIP for the first time, leveled sharp critiques at the agency, stating the framework often historically acts as a broker for mining companies rather than a protector of FPIC.
Honoring the physical sacrifices of the elders who traveled to the city, the human rights watchdog affirmed they will hold the NCIP strictly to the July 6 timeline.
Sec. Catamco countered by clarifying that under the 10th Commission, the absolute sovereign right to deny or approve projects rests entirely with the communitiesโnot corporate proponents or the NCIP.
"Money is not what makes us rich," she emphasized, challenging the false narrative that IPs are inherently "poor or uneducated."
"True wealth lies in rich heritage, community love (gugma), self-sufficiency, and high-quality traditional food, not government welfare." she added.
Laying down an immediate, aggressive legal strategy, NCIP Commissioner for Regions 9 and 10 Atty. Albert Lagamon directed the communities to deploy a dual-track approach: one specialized team dedicated solely to land registration, and a parallel team to file immediate cases in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) for the recovery of possession in active conflict areas.
Spiritual leaders also anchored the event with messages of resilience, Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples (CBCP-ECIP) Chair, Bishop Most Rev. Moises Cuevas, shared that during a recent IP Youth Retreat, two core symbols emerged: punla (seed/roots) representing ancestral dignity, and apoy [fire] representing hope.
Archbishop Tony Ledesma, President of the Bukidnon Integrated Area Development Foundation Inc. (BIADFI), served as the primary church convener.
Moving forward, the NCIP has committed to a comprehensive data-gathering campaign regarding IP grievances, a formal letter of collaboration to the CBCP-ECIP, and immediate ex*****on of the July 6 LRA and upcoming DENR crisis meetings.
Regional representatives from the DA, DENR, DAR, NEDA, DSWD, and PIA Region 10 were also present to witness the operational mandates.
โ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ฉ๐ช๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ: ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ช๐ฃ๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ฃโ
