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 4

sufficient to justify continuation of Non-Christian
 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 6
NEVER TO HAVE BEEN PUBLIC LAND...”
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 Forest Househol
ds
pressures, Trails

threats or Kaingin
stresses in
Migrants
their particular
resource mgt.
areas Main
road
Participatory GIS

Cost-effective;

– Technology is no
longer the domain of
“experts” and the
elite.

– Tool for planning

– Accommodates socio-
cultural 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

 Onlylicensed 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)