PUBLICATIONS
State of Indigenous Peoples Address 2023 Report
December 2023
The 2023 State of Indigenous Peoples Address (SIPA 2023) Report is a point of reckoning 26 years after the passage of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA), as the government’s adherence to the Regalian Doctrine continues to undermine its meaningful implementation even with no less than the 1987 constitution’s guarantees to indigenous peoples’ rights. As a result, ancestral domains are not granted their due respect over and above other land and resource uses.
Transforming Watershed Governance: An Overview of Watershed Policies and Governance in the Philippines
September 2023
The state of our country’s watersheds is characterized by pressures of crisis proportions such as land and water use conflicts, inaccessibility, eroding water quality, degrading ecosystems, and worsening climate vulnerabilities. Amidst these pressures, a significant percentage of our agriculturally and ecologically critical watersheds are not under protected status.
This discussion paper prescribes some policy and governance options that are envisioned to be transformative of how the government, businesses, and the general public understand, value, and take concrete action to protect our watersheds.
Energy Transition Minerals Value Chains in the Philippines
September 2023
This discussion paper seeks to provide an overview of the ETM landscape in the Philippines. More specifically, it summarizes information on ETM reserves and analyzes trends of production, including their respective areas; enumerates key players and examines the significance of their role in the ETM extraction and processing industry in the country; and identifies risks and challenges in the ETM extraction and processing, as well as opportunities for reforms and domestic or regional processing and utilization of ETM.
Philippine Mining Situation
September 2023
The Philippine Mining Situation report looks at the economic and political trends of the Philippine mining industry in the context of the current policy regime of the Marcos Jr. administration. This paper recommends the immediate reinstatement of the mining moratorium until such time a new mining policy direction that addresses the fundamental problems outlined in the discussion is in place. The latest iteration of the Alternative Minerals Management Bill (AMMB) remains the most viable policy proposal that is anchored on the tenets of ecological, social, and climate justice.
Toward a Just Minerals Transition in the Philippines
January 2023
The transition to renewable energy has a hidden cost: demand for energy transition minerals will surge by 500%. To ensure that the shift to clean energy does not worsen or replicate the environmental or social harms of mining, a just minerals transition framework is necessary. This paper draws the outlines of such a framework, anchored in the idea of "indispensable extraction." This is relevant to the Philippines, the fifth most mineralized country in the world and the site of at least five key transition minerals.
State of Indigenous Peoples Address 2022
November 2022
In the 2022 iteration of our annual report, we discovered that 49% or half of all Certificate of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs) are embroiled in environmentally destructive projects. The threats were found to cover at least 1.25 million hectares, equivalent to 21% of the total area of all CADTs. The report also unearthed that, despite their territories having an estimated forest ecosystem value of P1.1 trillion annually, three in every four indigenous persons remain among the poorest 40% of Filipinos. IPs were also found facing significant socio-economic gaps in accessing education, public health, water and electricity, and other public services.
Climate Litigation in the Philippines: Trends and Possibilities
Dec 2021
Climate change litigation, or simply “climate litigation,” has been growing in importance over the past decades. This becomes especially critical for the Philippines in view of its climate change vulnerability, due to its high exposure to natural hazards (typhoons, landslides, floods, droughts), dependence on climate-sensitive natural resources, and vast coastlines where all major cities and the majority of the level rise, increased frequency of extreme weather events, rising temperatures, and extreme rainfall.
Despite the obvious vulnerability of the Philippines to climate change, there is a dearth of cases that directly deal with climate litigation. Much of the current focus of climate change litigation in the country is on small and isolated cases, couched generally as “environmental” cases, and premised on a broad range of legal theories, usually seeking redress based on tort and quasi delict, without necessarily examining the broader context of history, jurisprudence, and policy development. This paper thus attempts to navigate that broader landscape by examining policies, jurisprudence, and current cases, and the unique circumstances that led to their development.
Local Government Powers in Extractive Mining and Other Environmentally Critical Projects
October 2021
Does the national government have the last say when it comes to environmental management? Or do local governments have that power? In this primer, we discuss laws and jurisprudence on defining the parameters of local autonomy when it comes to the environment.
Meant as a handy reference for local government units (LGUs), communities, and civil society organizations, this primer is designed in an Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) format.
BARMM Jurisdiction Over Ancestral Domains: An Argument for Restraint
September 2021
In Mindanao, after years of struggle, the Moro people are finally close to achieving full autonomy. But this achievement may sideline an equally historically marginalized group: non-Moro Indigenous Peoples (NMIPs).
In BARMM Jurisdiction over Ancestral Domains: An Argument for Restraint, LRC fellow Atty. Dan Gatmaytan examines the Constitution, legislation, and case law in asserting the importance of protecting the rights of NMIPs even as the Bangsamoro completes its project for autonomy.
State of Indigenous Peoples' Address Report 2021
July 2021
The State of Indigenous Peoples' Address gathers the voices of the country's indigenous peoples as they share their plights and aspirations. This year's report surfaces the issues confronting indigenous peoples, from resource exploitation to inter-tribal conflict, in the last year of the Duterte regime.
Locked In, Locked Out: Indigenous Peoples Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
June 2021
In May 2020, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNSRIP), José Francisco Cali Tzay, raised the alarm on the disastrous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Indigenous Peoples. He noted that the issues affecting them are not only limited to health, but also draw from systemic issues of landlessness, poverty, and marginalization aggravated by states of emergency.
In the Philippines, reports on how Indigenous Peoples have been faring under the pandemic are few and far between. We thus undertook the writing of a report that would capture their situation. Our report finds that Indigenous Peoples face challenges around the blended learning modality of the education department. Indigenous communities’ agricultural livelihoods have also been badly hit, and corporate aggression continued to take its toll on their security and tenurial claims.
According to one research respondent, one company is even "more lethal than the COVID-19 disease."
Situating the Belt and Road Initiative Within the Philippine Renewable Energy Trajectory
April 2021
This paper scopes Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in renewable energy in the Philippines within the context of China’s interest in Asia’s rapidly growing market for clean energy. It takes a closer look at the 300 megawatt South Pulangi 5 Hydropower Plant in the Philippines—one of the many deals signed between the Philippines and China in 2019—to understand its economic, environmental and social sustainability impacts. It also offers a glimpse of how BRI investments in renewable energy are processed and implemented in the country. The study likewise provides an overview of the overall policy environment that regulates foreign investments in the Philippines, particularly BRI financing in the power sector. Finally, the paper recommends policies that can help promote responsible and sustainable investments in the country.
Evacuees in Their Own Land: Indigenous Peoples’ Struggle for Recognition in the Bangsamoro
January 2021
As the Bangsamoro edges closer to the realization of its autonomy in Mindanao, the Teduray and Lambangian indigenous peoples are in danger of becoming a "minority within a minority". In Evacuees in Their Own Land: Indigenous Peoples' Struggle for Recognition in the Bangsamoro, LRC examines the complex terrain of the once touted land of promise.
RA 11749: Impacts on IP Rights Briefer
2020
The vagueness and overbreadth of the Anti-Terrorism Law (ATL), far from being a protective legislation, seeks to operationally bury dissent under the operational pretext of terrorism. It stands to become a tool to undermine constitutionally protected rights. This briefer offers a presentation of the most salient provisions of the law, and its implications for civil society and Indigenous peoples who are often involved in resources rights advocacy.
Securing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
June 2020
“Securing Indigenous Peoples' Rights” analyzes how the Philippine government deploys the concept of human security that can have great impact to the Indigenous peoples. Instead of securing the welfare of communities, it has made them more susceptible to economic, social, and physical insecurities.
Report to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples on Human Rights Violations Suffered by the T’boli-Manobo Community in Barangay Ned, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, Philippines
2020
“Report to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples on Human Rights Violations Suffered by the T’boli-Manobo Community in Barangay Ned, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, Philippines” details the issues and challenges confronting the Indigenous peoples in the Philippines in the time of COVID-19 health crises. It explores the public policies, passed under the administration of Rodrigo Duterte, that undermines the rights and welfare of the Indigenous peoples.
Defending our Territories, Defending our Lives
June 2019
“Defending our Territories, Defending our Lives”, published by Friends of the Earth – Asia Pacific (FoE-APac), presents case studies of Environmental Human Rights Defenders at risk in the name of plunder and profit. The FoE groups from the Asia Pacific region proposes policy recommendations and system change.
Brewing Tension: A Case Study of a Coffee Plantation in Indigenous Land
2019
“Brewing Tension: A Coffee Plantation on Indigenous Land” is a case study that examines the trend of agricultural expansion and how it ultimately paved the path for conflict between a large-scale coffee plantation and the Taboli-Manobo indigenous community.
Indigenous People’s Rights and Charter Change: Possibilities and Uncertainties
2018
“Indigenous People’s Rights and Charter Change: Possibilities and Uncertainties” opens up the discussion on the implications of charter change to Indigenous peoples rights in the Philippines. It explores a number of questions: Are their concerns adequately considered? How can indigenous peoples prepare for such scenarios? What are the possibilities and uncertainties the communities will be facing in this political landscape?
A Comparative Analysis of the Indigenous Communities Conserved Areas (ICCA) Bill and Philippine Environmental Laws
2018
Indigenous communities conserved areas (ICCA) have rich in biodiversity due to the conservation practices of the Indigenous peoples and local communities. “A Comparative Analysis of the Indigenous Communities Conserved Areas (ICCA) Bill and Philippine Environmental Laws” studies the proposed ICCA bill filed in the House of Representatives as it relates to existing Philippine environmental laws. This paper hopes to contribute to the development of the ICCA as an emerging paradigm in upholding the rights of the Indigenous peoples and poor upland rural communities.
The Environmental Stewards: Teduray and Lambangian Peoples’ Struggle for Ancestral Domain
2018
“The Environmental Stewards of Maguindanao: Teduray and Lambangian Peoples’ Struggle for Ancestral Domain” tells the story of the indigenous communities’ long battle for land rights amid the intensifying threats of illegal logging, deforestation and land grabbing in South-Central Mindanao.
State of Indigenous Peoples Address 2015
2015
The 76 indigenous leaders and representatives from 41 indigenous peoples' communities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao lay down the state of Indigenous peoples in the year 2015 under the administration of Noynoy Aquino.
Full Inclusion of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Proposed Bangsamoro
Basic Law
2014
The Teduray, Lambangian, Dulangan Manobo and Erumanen ne Menuvu have deep respect for the struggle of the Bangsamoro for their rights to self-determination due to shared historical struggle against colonization. However, the proposed autonomous law might push aside the rights of the Indigenous peoples. “Full Inclusion of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law” reviews the proposed autonomous law and asserts the rights of the Indigenous people in the proposed region.
CSO Fact-Finding Mission to the Ancestral Domains of Teduray and Lambangian in Maguindanao Province
2014
Civil society organizations organized mission to investigate the illegal mining exploration in the ancestral lands of the Teduray and Lambangian Indigenous peoples in Maguindanao, Philippines. “CSO Fact-Finding Mission to the Ancestral Domains of Teduray and Lambangian in Maguindanao Province” is the presentation of the findings and recommendations.
Briefer – Indigenous Peoples and the Bangsamoro Basic Law
July 2014
Indigenous peoples run the risk of becoming a minority within a minority as the Moro people chart their own path to genuine peace and development. The aspirations and enjoyment of rights by IPs and Moros do not have to be mutually exclusive.
CSO Fact-Finding Mission to the Ancestral Domains of Teduray and Lambangian in Maguindanao Province
2014
Civil society organizations organized mission to investigate the illegal mining exploration in the ancestral lands of the Teduray and Lambangian Indigenous peoples in Maguindanao, Philippines. “CSO Fact-Finding Mission to the Ancestral Domains of Teduray and Lambangian in Maguindanao Province” is the presentation of the findings and recommendations.
State of Indigenous Peoples Address 2014
2014
The annual State of Indigenous Peoples Address takes stock of the issues and concerns of IPs for 2014.
Compilation of Jurisprudence, International Experiences and Policies on the Recognition of Indigenous Peoples Ownership of Territories and Natural Resources
2013
Indigenous peoples and local communities have used various mechanisms and strategies to assert their rights to their ancestral territories amid the intensifying global need for natural resources. “Compilation of Jurisprudence, International Experiences and Policies on the Recognition of Indigenous Peoples Ownership of Territories and Natural Resources” presents a number of these available mechanisms and remedies and the legal contexts in which they operate.
Tan-Awan 2011
2011
Tan-Awan 2011 shares the story of assertion of right to self-determination of the Subanen of Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte where, in 2008, they exercised their customary law against a transnational mining corporation under the administration of Glora Macapagal Arroyo.
State of Indigenous Peoples Address 2011
2011
Indigenous peoples across the Philippines lament their unchanging struggles under the first year of the presidency of Noynoy Aquino.
Looking Behind Counter-Terrorism Measures, Are they for the Protection
or for the Persecution of People?
2005
The Philippines had its fair share of events characterized as terrorist attacks. To address these dangers, the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has implemented measures to fight terrorism which can be seen as curtailment of constitutionally protected rights. “Looking Behind Counter-Terrorism Measures, Are they for the Protection or for the Persecution of People?” scrutinizes the Anti-Terrorism Bills, namely, Senate Bill No. 2540 and House Bill No. 5923, submitted by Congress.
HSA of 2007: A Clear and Present Danger on Human Security
2007
The Human Security Act of 2007 fails to protect people from real acts of terrorism as it enforces a state-led terrorism. “HSA of 2007: A Clear and Present Danger on Human Security” traces various ways and means to which the law can block with legitimate assistance to marginalized communities in the Philippines.
Using the International Human Rights Framework to Empower Indigenous Communities in the Philippines
2007
Since the onset of colonialism and the modern nation-state, Indigenous peoples have been among the most vulnerable and exploited in the world. “Using the International Human Rights Framework to Empower Indigenous Communities in the Philippines” examines whether communities and civil society organizations can access certain international human rights mechanisms to realizing Indigenous peoples’ fundamental rights.
Charter Change: Different Strokes for Different Filipinos
2003
Since 1980s, the parlance of Charter Change (Cha-Cha) has been at the forefront of discussions among different sectors of Filipino society. It has also taken on different faces in the past political regimes. “Charter Change: Different Strokes for Different Filipinos” reviews the implications of Cha-Cha and why constitutional changes are not recommended under the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Anti-Terrorism Bills: Silencing Community Voices
2003
The administration Gloria Macapagal Arroyo passed Anti-Terrorism bills as a response to the ‘terrorist attacks’ that have caused fear among civilians. “Anti-Terrorism Bills: Silencing Community Voices” will, however, argue that these bills will only curtail the constitutionally protected rights of the Filipino people.
Philippine Natural Resources Law Journal
Volume 11. Number 1 (2001)
“Philippine Natural Resources Law Journal (Vol.11, No.1; November 2001)” discusses the forest laws in the Philippines and how it relates to the state of Indigenous peoples rights in the country.
Primer on Alternative Minerals Management Bill
Primer on Alternative Minerals Management Bill (AMMB) champions conservation of non-renewable mineral resources for the benefit of both present and future generations of Filipinos. The bill advocates to scrap the present Mining Act of 1995 (RA 7942).
Primer on Alternative Minerals Management Bill (In Filipino)
Primer on Alternative Minerals Management Bill (AMMB) champions conservation of non-renewable mineral resources for the benefit of both present and future generations of Filipinos. The bill advocates to scrap the present Mining Act of 1995 (RA 7942). This primer is translated in Filipino language.