QuestionsQuestions (NCIP Administrative Order No. 01, s. 2015)
It is the policy of the State to recognize and promote the rights of ICCs/IPs, particularly their right of ownership of ancestral lands regarded by custom and long association as their own private property, within the framework of national unity and development.
It states that individual members have an optional right to secure title under Commonwealth Act 141, as amended.
It is land occupied, possessed, and utilized by individuals, families, and clans of ICCs/IPs since time immemorial in the concept of owner under claims of individual or traditional group ownership, continuously to the present except when interrupted by war, force majeure, or displacement by force, deceit, stealth, or as a consequence of government projects and other voluntary dealings entered into by government and private persons/entities.
It refers to all areas generally belonging to ICCs/IPs—lands, inland waters, coastal areas, and natural resources—held under a claim of ownership and occupied/possessed since time immemorial, communally or individually, and necessary for economic, social, and cultural welfare. It includes ancestral lands plus other areas like hunting grounds, burial grounds, worship areas, bodies of water, minerals and other resources, and traditional access for subsistence activities.
It refers to a period of time as far back as memory can go, when certain ICCs/IPs are known to have occupied, possessed in the concept of owner, and utilized a defined territory devolved to them by operation of customary law or inherited from ancestors in accordance with their customs and traditions.
A group of people/homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by others, continuously living as an organized community on communally bounded and defined territory, with claims of ownership since time immemorial, and sharing common bonds of language and history of differentiation from the majority of Filipinos through resistance to colonization and cultural/political inroads.
Family is the basic unit of the ICC consisting of persons living together under one roof or separate dwellings, related by blood or customary law, subscribing to recognized indigenous land tenure systems. Clan is a traditional social unit of families/households tracing descent from a common ancestor, following indigenous land tenure systems/customary laws governing property rights. They matter because the required consents and eligibility differ for individual, family, and clan applicants.
They are recognized practices/arrangements of ICCs/IPs governing use, access, control, and management of lands and resources in ancestral domains, binding to all members due to their reliability and effectiveness for a long period of time.
It applies to individually-owned ancestral lands continuously possessed and occupied by individual ICC/IP members (by themselves or predecessors-in-interest) in the concept of owner since time immemorial. The total area covered must not exceed an aggregate of four (4) hectares per ICC/IP applicant.
Excluded are: ancestral lands within ancestral domains issued with CADTs; ancestral lands with approved CALTs; ancestral lands covered by traditional agreements in Mindanao such as Pakang, Safa, Dyandi, tampuda ha balagon being observed by ICCs/IPs; lands held by migrants in ancestral domains/lands of ICCs/IPs; and lands not actually used for agricultural, residential, pasture, or tree farming purposes. Exclusion affects whether the applicant can pursue the Sec. 12 CA 141 title-securing process.
Any individual, family, or clan member may file a verified application with the concerned NCIP Provincial Office (PO) or Community Service Center (CSC) (in areas without a Provincial Office) and pay a filing fee of Php 500.
The individual applicant must secure written consent of their surviving parent/s and their brothers and sisters (subject to the A.O.’s wording regarding deceased brothers or sisters of ages).
Family applicants must obtain written consent of the leaders/elders of the clan they belong to, while clan applicants must obtain written consent of the leaders/elders of the community where they belong.
The PO/CSC immediately makes a preliminary determination whether the applicant is qualified and whether the area is an ancestral land within Sec. 12 R.A. 8371 and Secs. 5 and 6 of the Rules. If insufficient, the applicant is directed to submit additional proofs; if in order, the process continues.
The PO/CSC must verify the authenticity of the documents submitted and the signatures of the personalities involved.
If in order, the PO/CSC dockets and numbers the application and immediately furnishes the concerned CENRO with a copy. Processing must comply with NCIP A.O. No. 4, s. 2012 on delineation and recognition. After final deliberation, if meritorious and complying with the rules, NCIP issues a resolution with findings and final disposition and notifies the applicant.
It governs the process for delineation and recognition of ancestral domains and lands; applications under this A.O. must comply with those omnibus rules.
Separability Clause ensures that if any part is declared unconstitutional/invalid, the unaffected portions continue in force. Repealing Clause states that inconsistent NCIP issuances are repealed or modified accordingly.
It takes effect fifteen (15) days after registration with the Office of the National Administrative Register (UP Law Center, Diliman, Quezon City) and after publication in any newspaper of national circulation.