APRIL 14, 2012 DATE

NR # 2709
REF. NO.

House body to probe eviction of indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands
The House Committee on National Cultural Communities will probe possible violations of the rights of thousands of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) forcibly evicted from their ancestral domains declared as military reservations in the country. The committee has been informed of the forcible eviction of thousands of IPs from Nueva Ecija, Capiz, Panay and Iloilo allegedly due to the declaration of their ancestral domains as military reservations, said Teddy Brawner Baguilat, Jr. (Lone District, Ifugao), chairman of the House panel. Baguilat also filed House Resolution 2216 urging the House Committee on National Defense and Security and Committee on Human Rights to conduct a parallel probe on the matter. According to Baguilat, there are many cases of establishment of military reservations or camps on ancestral lands that belong to the indigenous communities. Baguilat cited the cases of the Crow Valley Military Reservation, which is covered by a certificate of ancestral domain title awarded to an Aeta community and a military reservation in Panay, which according to the Bukidnon tribe of Iloilo is located on the tribes ancestral land. Likewise, Baguilat said the military war games and weapons testing, sporadic and frequent military operations and persistent paramilitary group and intelligence network building in IP ancestral Domains have disrupted the lives of the people living in the areas. The indigenous communities are under constant danger and vulnerable to human rights violations. They are prevented from exercising their rights over their ancestral domains, contrary to the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, Baguilat said. Baguilat said the government guarantees the protection of human rights of all its citizens as embodied in Article III of the Constitution and as exemplified in the governments commitments under Part IV of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHIHL). It provides that civilian population shall have the right to be protected against the risks and dangers posed by the presence of military camps in urban centers and other populated areas, Baguilat said. Furthermore, Baguilat cited Section 7 of the IPRA which states that the Rights to Ancestral Domains includes the right to ownership, to develop the lands and its natural resources, and the right to stay in the territories of the ancestral domain. Section 22, Article II of the Constitution provides that the State recognizes and promotes the rights of indigenous cultural communities within the framework of national unity and development, Baguilat said. (30) dpt