Ancestral Domain 3-d Modeling In The Philippines

Mapping Ancestral Domain in the Philippines by Giovanni B. Reyes Sec-Gen, Koalisyon ng Katutubong Samahan Ng Pilipinas Kankanaey Tribe, Sagada, Mountain Province, Philippines

OUTLINE I. Historico-Legal Perspective II. 3- Dimensional Map III. Illustrative Case IV. Threats/Challenges V. Opportunities & Lessons

I. 15th – 20th Century Colonial Laws Created Myths & Lies 1. Regalian Doctrine

“It is our will that ALL lands held without true deeds of grants be restored to us because they belong to us” 3

1898 Treaty of Paris: $20M sale of Philippines from Spain to the U.S

“National Minorities no longer exist to an extent

sufficient to justify continuation of Non-Christian

4

The State Reiterated Myths & Lies

2. Legal Fiction

“All lands of the public domain

and other natural resources therein are owned by the State”

5

Not one from the 110 ethno-linguistic tribes participated in the Treaty of Paris. Instead , a Supreme Court ruled that ancestral lands “ are private and NEVER TO HAVE BEEN PUBLIC LAND...”

6

A century later, the ruling is echoed in the Philippine Constitution and formed part of the legal system of the land.

1987: Philippine Constitution 

Section. 5 – The State shall …..protect the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities to their ancestral lands…



Sec. 17 Art. XIV – The State shall recognize, respect and protect the rights of ICCs to preserve and develop their cultures and traditions.

Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 Recognition of IP ownership of their:

ADs - “lands, inland waters, coastal

areas, and natural resources therein, held under a claim of ownership since time immemorial up to the present…”

ALs – lands under claims of individual ownership including residential lots, rice paddies & swidden farms.



IPRA specifies SELF-DELINEATION in the identification of ancestral domains (sec 51) : “…As such, the ICCs/IPs concerned shall have decisive role in all activities pertinent thereto.”

What does this mean? 

Delineation is NOT solely a technical exercise, directed by, and understandable only to the “technically literate”;



The community participate in all aspects of the delineation process;



The authority to implement them, is defined by LAW & NOT by bureaucrats!

II. A scale model reflecting important

land and water features like residential, agricultural and timberland.

It is rooted from people’s memory about landmarks and affirming their historical, cultural, social, ecological and spiritual assets.

How does 3-D modeling Begin?

Community Acceptance & Participation Extents of the territory is identified and sketched; Common boundary markers identified and consensus is built.

Mapping grade GPS 

Participants undergo training prior to survey

Next, ground survey is led by village leaders using survey equipment

Building the 3D Model 





The AD area is identified in the base map; Contour lines of the AD are traced from an enlarged base map; Each layer is cut representing a specific contour interval of the ancestral domain.

Contour layers are glued together; These are smoothened to gain better slope accuracy.

   

Local landmarks Trails, access routes Extents of territories Movement patterns

Information can be seen! It is tangible! !



Land-uses and community resources are color-coded;

People visualize pressures, threats or stresses in their particular resource mgt. areas

Forest

Househol ds Trails Kaingin Migrants

Main road

Participatory GIS Cost-effective; – Technology is no longer the domain of “experts” and the elite. – Tool for planning – Accommodates sociocultural information

III. Illustrative Case:

What 3-D modeling has done



Identified Disputed Boundaries

Conflict enmeshed across: Inter-tribal, inter-village and inter-municipal dispute involving 7 ethno-linguistic groups, 14 villages and 3 towns 26

Moved communities into action 

Identification of tribal boundaries in the Peace Pact. (bodong)

– Contending Parties Reconcile – 70,000 hectares in 1:5000 scale



Warring tribes Arrived at Negotiated Boundaries



War footing broken



parties face & realize common legend and space

28

Threats/Challenges Government is under severe pressure from market forces advocating extractive industries like logging & Mining

Reaction from interest groups against mapping of Indigenous Lands has been violent.

R.A. 8065 Geodetic Engineers Law

 Only

licensed Geodetic Engineers are allowed to conduct mapping

OPPORTUNITIES 

Survey regulations DO NOT APPLY to ancestral land and domains, as these are not, and were never part of public land.



Native Title/Cariño Doctrine UNREVERSED

“Whatever the law upon these points may be… every presumption is and ought to be against the government.. It is proper and sufficient to say that when, as far back as testimony or memory goes, that land has been held by individuals under a claim of private ownership, it will be presumed to have been held in the same way from before the Spanish conquest, AND NEVER TO HAVE BEEN PUBLIC LAND” (Cariño vs. Insular Government, 41 Phil 935). 

V. LESSON: Maps are powerful tools that allow people, institutions and states to record history, plan, manage and claim areas. “we have lost more land

because of maps rather than to bullets! But now we are taking them back with the use of maps”

KASAPI Land Tenure Project Sites (2009-2011)