Rules on Securing Titles for ICC/IP Ancestral Lands

Policy, purpose, and guiding principles

The State recognizes and promotes the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) within the framework of national unity and development.
The policy specifically recognizes the right of ownership of ancestral lands regarded as private property by custom and long association.
Individual ICCs/IPs members have an optional right to secure title under CA 141, as amended.
Ancestral land is treated as a valuable resource requiring management consistent with the customs and traditions of the ICCs/IPs.
The rules aim to define the process by which individual, family, and clan members may secure title to their ancestral lands under Section 12 of CA 141, as amended, through the framework of Section 12 of R.A. No. 8371.

Key definitions and concepts

Ancestral Land means land subject to an existing property-rights regime and the land occupied, possessed, and utilized by ICCs/IPs individuals, families, and clans since time immemorial, by themselves or through predecessors-in-interest, 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 individuals/corporations.
Ancestral Land includes residential lots, rice terraces or paddies, private forests, swidden farms, and tree lots.
Agricultural Land refers to land suitable or devoted for cultivation of food crops and for raising farm animals.
Ancestral Domain means all areas generally belonging to ICCs/IPs comprising lands, inland waters, coastal areas, and natural resources therein, held under a claim of ownership, occupied or possessed by ICCs/IPs by themselves or through ancestors, communally or individually since time immemorial, continuously to the present, except when interrupted by war, force majeure, or displacement by force, deceit, stealth, or as a consequence of government projects or other voluntary dealings.
Ancestral Domain is necessary to ensure ICCs/IPs economic, social, and cultural welfare and includes ancestral lands, forests, pasture, residential, agricultural, and other lands individually owned whether alienable and disposable or otherwise, hunting grounds, burial grounds, worship areas, bodies of water, mineral and other natural resources, and lands traditionally accessed for subsistence and traditional activities, including home ranges of nomadic/shifting cultivators.
Time immemorial means 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 by customary law or inherited from ancestors, in accordance with customs and traditions.
Migrants are ICCs/IPs who relocated or resettled themselves to other ancestral domains/territories claimed by other indigenous groups for work, better living conditions, or other economic reasons.
Community or ICCs refers to a group/homogenous society identified by self-ascription and ascription by others, continuously living as an organized community on communally bounded and defined territory, under claims of ownership since time immemorial, sharing common bonds of language and resisting colonization in political, social, and cultural inroads, non-indigenous religions and cultures, historically differentiating it from the majority of Filipinos.
Family is the basic unit consisting of persons living together under one roof or occupying separate dwellings, related by blood or by customary law, subscribing to recognized indigenous land tenure systems governing ownership, transfer, access, use, and control of ancestral lands.
Clan is a traditional social unit tracing descent from a common ancestor, following recognized indigenous land tenure systems or customary laws governing property rights.
Traditional Agreements are recognized practices/arrangements governing use, access, control, and management of lands and resources in ancestral domains, binding on all members due to reliability and effectiveness over a long period of time.

Coverage and acreage limitation

The rules apply to individually-owned ancestral lands continuously possessed and occupied by individual ICCs/IPs members either by themselves or through predecessors-in-interest in the concept of owner since time immemorial.
The process is limited to ancestral landholdings with a total area covered not exceeding an aggregate area of four (4) hectares for each ICC/IP applicant.

Delimitation: lands excluded from coverage

The rules do not apply to Ancestral Lands within Ancestral Domains issued with Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs).
The rules do not apply to Ancestral Lands with approved CALTs.
The rules do not apply to areas covered by traditional agreements such as Pakang, Safa, Dyandi, tampuda ha balagon as observed by ICCs/IPs in the island of Mindanao.
The rules do not apply to lands held by migrants in ancestral domains/lands of ICCs/IPs.
The rules do not apply to lands not actually used for agricultural, residential, pasture, tree farming purposes.

Title-securing process under Section 12 option

The process is undertaken when an ICC/IP member exercises the option to secure title pursuant to Section 12 of R.A. No. 8371.
The process is carried out by the applicant and the NCIP, including the relevant Provincial Office (PO) or Community Service Center (CSC).

Filing and required payment

Any individual, family, or clan member of ICCs/IPs may file a verified application with the concerned NCIP Provincial Office (PO) or Community Service Center (CSC) in areas with no PO.
The applicant must pay a filing fee of PHP 500.00.
The applicant must indicate the intention to secure title under Section 12 of R.A. 8371.
Individual applicants must secure written consent of their surviving parent/s and their brothers and sisters.
Family applicants must secure written consent of the leaders/elders of the clan where they belong.
Clan applicants must secure written consent of the leaders/elders of the community where they belong.

Preliminary evaluation and proof verification

The PO/CSC must immediately make a preliminary determination whether the applicant is qualified and whether the area is an ancestral land within Section 12 of R.A. No. 8371 and Sections 5 and 6 of these Rules.
If the application is insufficient upon evaluation, the applicant must be directed to submit additional proofs; otherwise, no further action is taken.
The PO/CSC must verify the authenticity of the documents submitted and the signatures of the personalities involved.

Docketing, numbering, and forwarding to CENRO

When an application is in order, the PO/CSC must docket and number the application.
The PO/CSC must immediately furnish the concerned CENRO with a copy of the application.

Compliance with delineation rules and NCIP disposition

The processing of applications must comply with NCIP A.O. No. 4, S. 2012, the Omnibus Rules on Delineation and Recognition of Ancestral Domains and Lands of 2012.
After final deliberation, if the Commission determines the application is meritorious and has complied with these Rules, it must issue a resolution containing its findings and final disposition.
The ADO must notify the applicant of the resolution.

Separability, repealing, and administrative effect

If any clause, section, sentence, or provision of this Administrative Order, or any portion, is held or declared unconstitutional or invalid by a competent court, the other provisions not affected continue in full force and effect.
All other NCIP Administrative Orders, Circulars, and Memoranda inconsistent with this Administrative Order are repealed or modified accordingly.