Philippines: Indispensability of the IPRA for peace in Mindanao
The formation of a new peace panel by the Government of Republic of Philippines on 25 December 2008 for resumption of the stalled peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is welcome. AITPN also takes note of the fivepoint preconditions announced by the Central Committee of the MILF on 26 December 2008 for resumption of the talks. The talks were stalled following declaration of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain on Bangsamoro Juridical Entity” (MOA-AD-BJE) between the government of Philippines and the MILF as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on 14 October 2008. What followed were humanitarian disasters, especially for the indigenous peoples, caused by the army and the socalled renegades of the MILF.
The conditions put by the MILF, among others, include (i) having an international guarantee composed of states or association of states to ensure that both the Government and MILF will honor and implement agreement or agreements forged by the parties; (ii) change in the stand of Government over the MOA-AD as ‘no deal’ and ‘unconstitutional’ in the aftermath of the Supreme Court judgement of 14 October 2008; and (iii) Malaysia to stay as facilitator of the peace talks.
In fact all the international actors interested in the peace process in Mindanao, in particular, Malaysia, Japan and the United States must recognize the diversity of the conflict in Mindanao and ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples, who are numerical minorities, are not subsumed for peace with the MILF.
Obviously, the legitimate question arises as to who are the indigenous peoples of Mindanao. Many Moros claim themselves as indigenous. AITPN does not dispute their claims. However, the fact remains that the Bangsamoros are not legally recognised as indigenous peoples under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997. The IPRA lists 110 ethno linguistic groups of Philippines as indigenous peoples but Bangsamoros are not included. Many Moros opine that their nonrecognition as indigenous peoples is an act of discrimination by Christian dominated Filipinos.
At the same time, in the existing Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARRM) – a product of the peace process with the Moros, the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 is not applicable. The experiences of the indigenous communities of Teduray, Lambangian and Dulangan Manobo of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces whose Ancestral Domains of 400,000 hectares were included have not been encouraging. In the ARMM Act, there is no provision for titling of ancestral domains of the indigenous people as provided under the IPRA. Absence of title means lack of tenurial security and therefore lack of ownership. Having the powers of eminent domain, the Regional Government of the ARMM under section 3 of Article V of the ARMM Act has the authority to acquire/take over the ancestral domain of the indigenous people citing public interest.
The IPRA whose constitutional validity has been upheld by the Supreme Court has been relegated to oblivion. The token representation from indigenous communities has not been helpful. Under Clause 1 under heading “Concepts and Principles” of the MOA-AD-BJE, the Bangsamoro identity is imposed on the indigenous peoples. It provides that, “It is the birthright of all Moros and all Indigenous peoples of Mindanao to identify themselves and be accepted as “Bangsamoros”. The Bangsamoro people refers to those who are natives or original inhabitants of Mindanao and its adjacent islands including Palawan and the Sulu archipelago at the time of conquest or colonization and their descendants whether mixed or of full native blood. Spouses and their descendants are classified as Bangsamoro. The freedom of choice of the Indigenous people shall be respected.”
For indigenous peoples, it is a matter of rights recognized under the IPRA and not freedom of choice that the government of Philippines and the MILF would like to espouse. Any peace agreement with the MILF must explicitly recognize that the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 shall prevail. Without such explicit reference, indigenous peoples of Mindanao shall loose their rights.
Unless Bangsamoros recognize the applicability of the IPRA in any future agreement with the government of Philippines, the Moros themselves can be accused of committing the same act of discrimination for which they rightly point the fingers towards the Christian dominated Filipinos. Recognition of rights of indigenous Peoples through explicit reference to the IPRA remains fundamental.