OUR PARTNERS:

 

We accept our limitations and we know that we cannot do everything on our own. We have, therefore, joined hands in a consortium with local NGO’s namely;  Indigenous Peoples Apostolate (IPA) and the Tanggapang Panligal ng Katutubong Pilipino (PANLIPI), the Palawan NGO Network (PNNI) and the Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC)

 

The IPA implements programs with NATRIPAL communities on community based health programs and functional literacy programs.

 

Whereas PANLIPI is NATRIPAL’s legal arm in terms of land rights, advocacy and litigation.

 

The PNNI or Palawan NGO Network Incorporated helps NATRIPAL communities  eradicate illegal logging, thus protecting the environment.

 

While ELAC is our legal partner on environmental issues.

 

Successes and strategies

 

One of the successes of NATRIPAL has been the ability to work closely with indigenous peoples at the level of the community. This has been possible due to their long term relations and involvement with the local people; in addition, the people comprising NATRIPAL belong to these communities and are, therefore, well aware of the predominant issues and problems. Some specific successes of NATRIPAL have been:

• As mentioned above, NATRIPAL is registered under the Securities and Exchange Commission, since 1991; the SEC is a government body that gives all registered organisations a legal entity, which NATRIPAL now has;

• The formation of Area Servicing Units (ASU) at 4 places; these units are meant to help the local people with credit, processing and trading in NTFPs, which are all important factors in the everyday life of the communities;

• Providing alternative means, such as the trade and extraction of NTFPs, for livelihood for the local communities, including strengthening their capacities to widen their scope of activities;

• Developing the programme on Certificate of Ancestral Domain Claims (CADC), some of which have come through and some of which are still pending. The CADC plays a significant role in the lives of the indigenous people as it gives them a legal basis to manage and utilise the resources within their domain. It also gives them the security against encroachment and land grabbing, especially by migrants and businessmen who operate within their area. The CADC was an aspiration of most of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines; the legal aspect of CADC belongs to the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR), in 1993;

• Preparation of Ancestral Domain Management Plans (ADMP) for the areas that are under the CADC. The Ancestral Domain Management Plan was formulated under the DENR in 1996 and documents the traditional practices of the community with regard to management and utilisation of resources. All introductions of new technologies, plans and policies were then discussed in accordance with these existing laws, to see whether they in line with the community's views. The ADMP also serves to monitor licenses and permits for transport of products outside the community area; 

• Protecting the areas which are under the CADC and;

• Bringing the people together to protect their areas as well as in procuring and transporting their NTFPs.

 

 

 

Methods

 

The methods used to achieve the goals set by NATRIPAL are varied and many. Most importantly, they involve a lot of politicking and diplomacy as the interests of NATRIPAL may go against many vested interests. Some of the methods used are:

• Building a thorough rapport with the indigenous communities that NATRIPAL is working with;

• Building a strong network with the NGO communities working in the Philippines as well as in South and Southeast Asia in order to learn from their experiences;

• Keeping abreast with the developments in the extraction and sustainable trade in NTFPs in order to help the indigenous communities benefit from the natural resources;

• Conducting workshops and meetings to raise the awareness of the indigenous peoples in the field of human rights, indigenous rights, etc., so that they are able to claim what is legitimately due to them;

• Documentation of indigenous knowledge systems through PRAs and;

• Conducting research on alternative forms of livelihood for indigenous peoples that would help them raise their income.

 

Evolution:

 

Palawan is a narrow archipelago on the western border of the Philippines. Due to its location, it remains cut off remote from the rest of the country. The waters of South China Sea lap the western shores of Palawan while the Sulu Sea hugs its eastern coast.  With a land area of nearly 1.5 million hectares, (Palawan land area is 14, 896 sq. kilometres) Palawan is the country’s largest province, which is inhabited by seven indigenous groups.

 

As in most parts of the world, indigenous peoples of the Palawan face severe problems, the most pressing of which are the threat of being displaced from their ancestral territories and lands. The constant influx of newcomers to their land territories in search of minerals and timber as well as conflicting government policies had resulted most often to their disadvantage.

 

And to counter this unfortunate trend against the indigenous people of Palawan, NATRIPAL, Inc. was established in 1989 and was formally registered to SEC in February 4, 1991.  NATRIPAL was conceptualised and initiated to regain the rights of indigenous peoples. The effort was also expected to serve as a mechanism that would assist the indigenous peoples to face the contemporary challenges of development that endanger their integrated existence and give them a distinct identity. To this end, NATRIPAL equips the tribal people with the wherewithal to help them be a part of the mainstream society and has been occupied with issues relating to land rights and resource management.

 

NATRIPAL, Inc. is a federation of three indigenous peoples, namely the Tagbanua, the Pala’wan and the Batak. These are considered to be the most neglected among the existing indigenous peoples groups in the province of Palawan. Currently, the federation has a total of 63 associations, spread all over the province. 

 

Socio-Economic and Ecological Context

 

Of the seven indigenous groups that inhabit the island of Palawan three of them belong to the marginal level of socio-economic existence, namely, the Tagbanua, Batak, and

Pala’wan. The Tagbanua, who are believed to have descended from the Tabon man, together with the Pala’wan group, are found in the central and northern Palawan. The Pala’wan belong to the large Manobo-based linguistic groups of the southern Philippines and are found in the interior region of southern Palawan. The Batak live in the rugged interiors of north eastern Palawan.

 

With a relatively intact ecology, Palawan is an attractive tourist destination. The forest cover is estimated to be up to 54% of the total land area of the island. The livelihood of the indigenous people depends to a major extent on the forest. However, the alarming rate of migration into the forest areas from other parts of Philippines pushes the inhabitants further inland, where contact with the rest of the country and access to basic facilities are absent.

 

As most of the indigenous peoples in the Philippines depend on the resources procured from the forest and the sea, it is important that these resources are used in a sustainable manner. The regulated utilisation of resources and an equal access to them for the people most dependent upon them are crucial challenges, which NATRIPAL has undertaken. The detrimental effects of the over-exploitation of forest products, especially NTFPs, will affect the future regeneration of the forest and the livelihood of indigenous peoples

 

• Challenges

   

  The challenges that NATRIPAL face are essentially of a legal nature. Their work is centred on constantly monitoring the political processes in the country and seeing how indigenous peoples are affected by new legislation. This preoccupation with the law also helps NATRIPAL realise how certain legal clauses and acts can be revoked to serve the interests of indigenous peoples. A few particular points are listed below.

   

  The advocacy and lobbying for a genuine implementation of the Republic Act 8371, otherwise known as the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA). This Act recognises the rights of the indigenous peoples over their ancestral domains, as well as the freedom to maintain their culture and tradition. However, though the Act has been enacted the people are not provided the rights that are due to them. Instead, there have been protests about its validity and the issue has been raised at the Supreme Court; further, some laws that contradicts the spirit of IPRA and are in favour of powerful businessmen and high-ranking politicians have been pushed ahead. One such law is the Mining Act of 1995.

   

  The advocacy of the Republic Act 7611, or the Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan.

   

  This entails taking into account the interests of the indigenous peoples of Palawan. The goals should be clearly defined and properly implemented with the support of the local government units. They want to continue to fight for the acquisition of two Certificate of Ancestral Domain Claims (CADC) at Barangay Irawan (in Puerto Princesa City) and Alimanguhan San Vicente. These claims were duly approved by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources but were not awarded due to the questions concerning the constitution of IPRA; there was also some protest against the claims from the local officials belonging to the department dealing with the coverage of the claims.

   

   

   

Obstacles and Responses

 

The initiative that NATRIPAL has undertaken - especially the struggle for indigenous peoples rights over ancestral territories - faces a wide range of obstacles. One  hand the politicisation of the "land issue" challenges the powerful elite who have control and influence over the law and its interpretation. On the other hand, the "opening up" of areas that are ecologically attractive for tourists threatens the ecosystem of the people who depend most on it. Some of the immediate obstacles that the initiative faces are:

• The unchecked immigration of new migrants into the forests and territories of the indigenous peoples of Palawan. This has not only displaced vast numbers of the original inhabitants of the region but has also disturbed their tradition and culture, leaving them unsettled and insecure;

• The unregulated utilisation of forest resources that has affected the livelihood patterns of indigenous peoples;

• The conversion of vast areas of forests into National Parks and Reserves; many of these areas were traditionally used by the local communities for their sustenance and the generation of income;

• The influx of tourism into areas that are ecologically fragile;

• The obstacles that prevent the demarcation of areas to be under the CADC; one such obstacle has been created by the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA);

• The local governments, who need to approve the projects taken up or formulated by NATRIPAL (or any NGO), before the DENR can formally recognise it; this is in accordance with the rule that no projects may be finalised without the consent of the local communities. Yet, despite the fact that NATRIPAL takes up no initiative that does not come directly from the people, the local governments delay the process, as in the case of the CADC, and it hampers the work of NATRIPAL;

• The conflicts regarding the agreement on the boundaries for CADC areas; one such issue was raised due to the expansion of

 

the St. Paul Subterranean National Park, which then intruded into a CADC zone;

• The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has been unable to grant the local people any licenses for the collection of honey and almaciga resin due to the presence of earlier concession holders and;

• The corruption that has been bred due to unreasonable forest tax policies; in addition, though the community has the license for transporting their products, they still need permits issued by the DENR.

 

Stakeholders

 

The main stakeholders in this initiative are indigenous peoples of Palawan, especially the Tagbanua, the Batak and the Pala'wan. Other stakeholders are:

The NGO communities who are engaged in issues involving the rights of indigenous peoples in the Philippines.

The government sector, especially the judiciary that may grant indigenous peoples their rights over their territories. Other important departments are the DENR and the department of tourism.

The business community that has been in control of the products harvested from the forests in indigenous territories.

The tourism industry as well as the tourist community that has increasingly banked on the Philippines as a tourist spot.

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What is innovative about the initiative?

 

The initiative undertaken by NATRIPAL address the key question with regard to indigenous peoples in the Philippines and elsewhere: rights over their ancestral domains. However, historical processes and contemporary societies have continuously sidelined indigenous communities from mainstream issues in most countries. It is now an uphill task to bring these communities into the foreground and to give them what is legitimately due to them.

 

NATRIPAL has evoked the legislation of the country and uses the law to the benefit of indigenous communities. Through law - instead of force that can only backfire on the interests of the people - NATRIPAL's effort raises the level of awareness of the government, as well as indigenous peoples. The formation of CADCs, as areas that are sacrosanct due to their "belonging" to indigenous communities, is a positive step

in assisting the original inhabitants retain

 

their ancestral rights to traditional lands. Once this has been achieved NATRIPAL has gone further and helped formulate plans (ADMPs) to manage these territories sustainably.