Saturday, May 17, 2008 Oledan: Policy interventions By Radzini Oledan Slice of Life
LAND is central to the struggle of indigenous peoples for self-determination.
Their cultural identity is strongly link to the ancestral domain. Their struggle for self-determination will enable them to exercise their social, economic and political rights as people.
The United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provide that "All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development".
In the exercise of that right, indigenous people can demand and pursue within the nation state more political power, active participation in the decision making and administration of government affair, equitable redistribution of economic benefits and appropriate ways to preserve and protect their way of life.
The passage of the Ipra law was meant to support the development of IP communities by recognizing their right to ancestral domain.
The Ipra law is deceitful. Hailed as a landmark legislation which seeks to "recognize, promote and protect the rights of the IPs, the law proceeded with the mandate for the issuance of Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles to indigenous groups.
With the CADT issuance, ancestral lands became privately owned and subject to the manipulations of those in power. With private ownership, business interests have easily coerced and enticed IPs to sell their ancestral land.
It became a viable tool for foreign projects to enter IP communities through the process of Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) which often leaves indigenous peoples as squatters in our their land and threatened with displacement.
Such situation breeds animosity and disunity causing tribal wars over land disputes. Just recently, the death of Datu Dominador Diarog highlighted the situation of lumads. Disputes could have been easily resolved through the traditional settlement system, which was observed before the Ipra implementation.
The public awaits the conduct of public hearings on the matter but discussions and policy interventions, if any, should go beyond purely procedural processes such as asking the police or the appropriate agency to further investigate the death of the Datu. It is an area best resolved by concerned agencies and the justice system.
It may be high time for our policy makers to undertake a close analysis and policy recommendation on how best to respond to the local conditions of our indigenous peoples. Email comments to roledan@gmail.com
