WITH the transfer of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) by virtue of an executive order, an environmental group warned that the rights of the indigenous peoples maybe in danger.

Executive Order 726, which was signed by President Gloria Macapagal–Arroyo last May 23, 2008, ordered the transfer of the NCIP from the Department of Agrarian Reform to the DENR.

In its briefing paper, the Legal Rights Center (LRC) said that although "the primary purpose of the attachment is for the purposes of program and policy coordination", the NCIP is also subject to reporting requirement to the environment secretary.

The Administrative Code of 1987 defined an attached agency still holds a level of independence as opposed to a line agency under the department which is subject to the control and supervision of the secretary.

This coordination between the NCIP and DENR, the briefing paper noted, will be the framework for the internal policies adopted by the department.

It further noted that "in this case, the environment secretary does not have control and supervision of the NCIP. However, what is alarming and a cause for concern under this organizational structure are the emphasized phrases and functions of the department vis-à-vis the attached agency."

For some years now, it said, the DENR and NCIP along with other government agencies have been coining the term 'harmonization of laws and policies'.

"It is expected that they will now use the transfer as a clear action to respond to conflicting policies, interpretation and implementation of laws which affect the rights of indigenous peoples, in relation to the exploitation, development and utilization of natural resources," it warned.

Records showed that as early as 2006, the DENR and NCIP have been trying to harmonize the implementation of IPRA and ENR laws and policies. The minutes of one of these meetings, specifically, on October 18, 2006, are "very revealing and alarming".

The LRC said, in one of the meetings the two agencies agreed, among others, that "it is the State that owns the natural resources consistent with the Constitution. What is recognized under the IPRA is the title over the land, not natural resources."

Though this document does not necessarily mean that policies shall be issued as what was discussed, the group warned, "it still presents a picture of what to expect from the attachment of NCIP."

"The transfer of the NCIP further reinforces that natural resources within ancestral domains are owned by the State. If the NCIP under the DAR is an expression of the concept of ancestral domains as part of agrarian reform, then NCIP under DENR is an expression of putting IPs under the watch of DENR, especially now the Chamber of Mines have seen migrant IPs as a roadblock to the entry of mining projects."

But even before the NCIP was put under DENR, it already encroached on NCIP's turf. Department Administrative Order 07–15 or the Amended Revised IRR of the Mining Act, Section 35 stated: "Mineral Agreement applicant whose applications originated from EP and have complied with the above requirements in the process are no longer covered by the same NCIP requirements."

With DENR now actually having a say in the matters of NCIP, then it can hands–on control and manipulate the implementation of the IPRA and also of other policies which affect IPs, the LRC alleged.

"Adding this to the current policies enforced and implemented by DENR regarding extractive industries, it is clear that the free, informed, and prior consent (FPIC) of IPs shall now be put under a one–stop shop for the approval of permits and concessions," it said.

Based on the Philippine Asset Reform Report Card by Phildraa, the top three extractive industries present in ancestral domains are logging (69.8% – which represents the decades–long of TLAs and forestry concessions), mining (44.2%), and logging and mining (23.3%). These industries are all regulated by the DENR.

Meanwhile, more than half of the priority mining projects of the country overlap or are found within ancestral domains. Under this report, 72.1% of the projects within ancestral domains are conducted without FPIC and not all conform to the FPIC process as determined by the customary laws of the community.

The LRC concluded: "There is a need to heighten discussions and critical engagements with these two government agencies and to reflect the market interests now at play. There is a need for a collaborative effort to hold these officials accountable on their duty and obligation to the people. It should be clear that the peoples' interests and human rights come first rather than transnational corporations and the extractive industries. It is imperative to expose government's actuations that is detriment (sic) to the rights and interests of the indigenous peoples."

END