Case Digest (G.R. No. 214925)
Facts:
In G.R. No. 195638 decided on March 22, 2022, Anita Santos filed a Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court against Regional Hearing Officer Kissack B. Gabaen, Ricardo D. Sanga, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). She assailed the NCIP-Regional Hearing Office’s February 7, 2011 Order directing the seizure and custody of almaciga resin and its February 10, 2011 Cease and Desist Order restraining parties from interfering with NCIP personnel and from implementing Resource Use Permits (RUPs) without Free and Prior Informed Consent under Section 59 of Republic Act No. 8371. These orders arose from a complaint filed by tribal chieftain Danny Erong against Pinagtibukan It Pala’wan, Inc. (PINPAL)—holder of RUP No. 001-09 for harvesting 155,503.125 kilos of almaciga resin in Barangay Punta Baja, Rizal, Palawan—and the DENR, for allegedly issuing the RUP without the requireCase Digest (G.R. No. 214925)
Facts:
- Antecedents
- Pinagtibukan It Pala’wan, Inc. (PINPAL), a people’s organization of Palawan Indigenous Cultural Community in Barangay Punta Baja, Rizal, Palawan, holds Resource Use Permit (RUP) No. 001-09 authorizing extraction of 155,503.125 kilos of almaciga resin from CADC No. R4-CADC-100.
- Danny Erong, a Pala’wan Tribal Chieftain, alleges the DENR’s City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) granted PINPAL’s RUP without the Certification Precondition (CP) required under Section 59 of R.A. 8371, and accuses PINPAL of monopolizing the resin market through Anita Santos.
- Proceedings Before NCIP-RHO
- October 15, 2010: Erong files complaint with NCIP-Regional Hearing Office (NCIP-RHO) against PINPAL (represented by Naron T. Asura) and the DENR for violating Section 59 of R.A. 8371.
- October 20, 2010: NCIP-RHO issues 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO).
- November 17, 2010: Santos files Verified Motion to Intervene, denies monopoly, asserts she buys from PINPAL’s authorized representative and that Erong failed to prove irreparable injury.
- NCIP-RHO Actions and Orders
- December 2, 2010: Hearing; case remanded to Pala’wan Tribal Council for amicable settlement under customary law. PINPAL later boycotts settlement, prompting resumption of hearings.
- February 6–7, 2011: NCIP-RHO receives report of resin transport; issues memorandum via Abo-Abo field office, mobilizes Marines; impounds Santos’s truck and the resin.
- February 7, 2011: NCIP-RHO Order: almaciga resin to remain in NCIP custody at Abo-Abo Service Center pending resolution.
- February 10, 2011: NCIP-RHO Cease and Desist Order: enjoins PINPAL, DENR (and agents), Santos and others from coercing NCIP personnel, from using RUPs granted without CP, orders tribal assembly, financial disclosures, and authorizes Marines to enforce.
- Post-Orders Developments
- February 15, 2011: Santos withdraws her intervention, claims lack of due process and jurisdiction.
- April 5, 2011: NCIP-RHO lifts Cease and Desist Order as to DENR but reaffirms mandatory FPIC rule for future permits.
- Santos files Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition with prayer for TRO before the Supreme Court, challenging the NCIP-RHO orders and constitutionality of R.A. 8371 provisions. OSG, NCIP, and later DENR file comments contesting standing, remedy, jurisdiction, and constitutionality.
Issues:
- Whether a petition for certiorari and prohibition under Rule 65 is the proper remedy to question the NCIP-RHO orders.
- Whether Anita Santos has legal standing to defend the validity of PINPAL’s RUP.
- Whether the Supreme Court may take cognizance of and rule on the constitutionality of provisions of R.A. 8371 conferring ownership over ancestral domains to ICCs/IPs.
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)