A REPRESENTATIVE from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples-Davao Region (NCIP-Davao) said that the number of members of the Indigenous Communities (ICs) in the region selling their ancestral lands has decreased.
Ariel Padaya, Community Affairs of NCIP-Davao, said during an interview at the sidelines of the AgriBiz Media Forum on Tuesday morning, August 6, 2024, at SM Lanang that based on their monitoring the issue of IPs selling their lands has decreased.
“Medyo na rampant ang issue sa pagpamaligya pero sa pagkakaron atoa na gyud gi-execute labi na ang atoang regional advisory nga bawal ang pagpamaligya sa yuta (The selling of ancestral lands was once very rampant, but now that we have enforced the regional advisory prohibiting land sales, it has decreased),” he said.
Padaya also stressed that, in most cases, the individuals selling the land are not from the region.
He shared that their coordination with tribal leaders has been ongoing to further reduce the number of cases or even stop the practice of ancestral land selling. He highlighted that, in the Davao Region, Marilog District has been one of the areas with a high rate of ancestral land selling. He added that although there are some cases in other regions, they are not as rampant as in Marilog.
“Mao na amoang panawagan karon na kining bawal gyud ang pagpamaligya ug naa siyay kaakibat na sanction, penalty, ug bisan pa imprisonment base sa atoang Ipra [Indigenous Peoples Rights Act] (This is our call that selling ancestral lands is prohibited and carries corresponding sanctions, penalties, and imprisonment according to the Ipra),” he said.
Under Republic Act (RA) No. 8371, otherwise known as “The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997,” it is prohibited to sell ancestral lands to non-members of the IC.
Section 72 of RA 8371 states that those who violate the provisions of the act shall be punished in accordance with the customary laws of the ICCs/IPs concerned, provided that the punishment is not cruel, degrading, or inhumane, and neither the death penalty nor excessive fines shall be imposed.
“In such cases, any person who violates any provision of this Act shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment of not less than nine (9) months but not more than twelve (12) years or a fine of not less than One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000) nor more than Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (P500,000), or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court. Additionally, the offender shall be required to compensate the ICCs/IPs concerned for any damage suffered as a consequence of the unlawful act,” it further states.
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