Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 8978)
The official title is the "Mt. Kitanglad Range Protected Area Act of 2000."
The State declares the policy to protect and preserve Mt. Kitanglad Range, its biological resources, communities, culture, and way of life in harmony with nature, ensuring biodiversity protection, sustainable development, and respect for indigenous customary laws.
The Act covers the Mt. Kitanglad Range in the Province of Bukidnon, including its defined boundaries as specified in the technical descriptions and includes buffer zones surrounding the protected area.
Buffer zones are areas surrounding the protected area with defined boundaries, established to provide an extra layer of protection to the PA, where restrictions can apply and local communities may help protect the area.
Ancestral domain refers to all lands and natural resources occupied or possessed by indigenous cultural communities communally or individually in accordance with their customs since time immemorial and includes adjacent areas necessary for their economic, social, and cultural welfare.
The PAMB is composed of the DENR regional executive director as chairman, barangay captains, NGO/PO representatives, DA regional director, NCIP provincial officer, mayors or their reps of towns inside the PA, Land Bank provincial manager, representatives of facility owners, provincial planning and development officer, sangguniang panlalawigan representative, and indigenous cultural community representatives.
The PASu prepares and implements management plans, provides secretariat support to the PAMB, hires personnel, enforces laws, develops visitor programs, monitors activities, and forms partnerships with local communities.
Tenured migrants may occupy the area specified in their tenure instrument for 25 years, renewable for another 25 years, with possibility for negotiation of a new instrument thereafter.
Prohibited acts include hunting, gathering timber without permits, mineral exploration, construction without permits, and destruction of natural features. Penalties include fines ranging from P1,000 to P500,000, imprisonment from one to five years, eviction from the PA, and confiscation of properties.
The Act fully recognizes indigenous peoples' rights to ancestral domains, governed by customary laws, allows application for Certificates of Ancestral Domain Title, and mandates that ancestral domain rights be upheld without impairment or deprivation, with no prescription period for these rights.