The National Icca Registry

Senate / Office of the scaretarp TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session 25 DEC -3 P1:35 SENATE RECEIVED BY: S.B. No. 1578 INTRODUCED BY SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS RECOGNIZING THE INDIGENOUS CULTURAL COMMUNITIES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (ICCS/ IPs) COMMUNITY CONSERVED TERRITORIES AND AREAS (ICCA), ESTABLISHING FOR THE PURPOSE THE NATIONAL ICCA REGISTRY, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR EXPLANATORY NOTE Article Il of the 1987 Constitution mandates the State to protect the right to a balanced and healthful ecology and to recognize and safeguard the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs). This includes ensuring that their rights and knowledge systems are considered in national policies on biodiversity conservation, climate action, and sustainable development. Indigenous Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs), considered "territories of life" are portions of ancestral domains that ICCs/IPs protect, conserve, and sustainably manage in accordance with their indigenous knowledge, practices, and customary laws. Recognizing ICCAs affirms the vital role of ICCs/IPs in environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, and community resilience. This recognition is consistent with Republic Act No. 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), Republic Act 7586 also known as the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act (NIPAS), Republic Act 11038 or the Expanded NIPAS Act, Republic Act 9174 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, as well as international instruments such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Convention on Biological Diversity, which also call for the promotion of effective area-based conservation measures beyond protected areas. The proposed ICCA Bill operationalizes these mandates by establishing a national ICCA registry and a clear process for the documentation, registration, and recognition of ICCAs. It ensures their integration into local government plans, defines prohibited acts with corresponding penalties, and provides funding for ICCA

management. The Bill strengthens ICC/IP self-governance, sustainable traditional resource rights, and their stewardship of their ancestral "territories of life." In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this measure is earnestly sought. KISA HONTIVERO. Senator

senate Office of the Scarriate TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) ) First Regular Session 25 DEC -3 P1:35 SENATE RECEIVED BY. S.B. No. 1578 INTRODUCED BY SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS RECOGNIZING THE INDIGENOUS CULTURAL COMMUNITIES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (ICCS/ IPs) COMMUNITY CONSERVED TERRITORIES AND AREAS (ICCA), ESTABLISHING FOR THE PURPOSE THE NATIONAL ICCA REGISTRY, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled: CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the " Indigenous Cultural

Communities and Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCA) Act".

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - In accordance with the Philippine Constitution,

Republic Act (RA) No. 8371, otherwise known as the "Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997" (IPRA), and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), it is the policy of the State to recognize, promote, and protect the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs), particularly to their ancestral domains. The State also recognizes the existing customary and traditional governance by ICCs/IPs of their ancestral domains and lands as an effective measure of conserving key biodiversity areas. Through this recognition, the State acknowledges the significant contribution of ICCs/IPs to the country's efforts in environmental protection, biodiversity conservation and in promoting the community resilience.

Towards this end, the State shall adopt measures to recognize and respect the designation, and declaration of ICCs/IPs of their conserved areas within their ancestral domains and promote their rights to manage, maintain, and develop the natural resources and apply their indigenous knowledge systems and practices within these areas under their indigenous political structures and traditional governance systems. For this purpose, a national registry for all ICCs/IPs conserved territories and areas shall be established to be the repository of information on these conserved territories and areas.

Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the following terms shall

mean: (a) Ancestral Domains- all areas generally belonging to ICCs/IPs comprising lands, inland waters, coastal areas, and natural resources therein, held under a claim of ownership, occupied or possessed by ICCs/IPs, by themselves or through their ancestors, communally or individually since time immemorial, continuously to the present except when interrupted by war, force majeure or displacement by force, deceit, stealth or as a consequence of government projects or any other voluntary dealings entered into by government and private individuals/corporations, and which are necessary to ensure their economic, social and cultural welfare. It shall include ancestral lands, forests, pasture, residential, agricultural, and other lands individually owned whether alienable and disposable or otherwise, hunting grounds, burial grounds, worship areas, bodies of water, mineral and other natural resources, and lands which may no longer be exclusively occupied by ICCs/IPs but from which they traditionally had access to for their subsistence and traditional activities, particularly the home ranges of ICCs/IPs who are still nomadic and/or shifting cultivators; (b) Ancestral Domains Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP) - the consolidated plans of ICCs/IPs for the sustainable management and development of their land and natural resources within their ancestral domain, as well as the development of human and cultural resources based on their indigenous knowledge, systems and practices. Such plan shall be the basis of the Five Year Master Plan for ICCS/IPs; (c) Ancestral Lands - lands occupied, possessed and utilized by individuals, families and clans who are members of the ICCs/IPs since time immemorial, by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest, under claims of individual or traditional group ownership, continuously,

to the present except when interrupted by war, force majeure or displacement by force, deceit, stealth, or as a consequence of government projects and other voluntary dealings entered into by government and private individuals/corporations, including, but not limited to, residential lots, rice terraces or paddies, private forests, swidden farms and tree lots; (d) Assisting organization - an organization known to the community and with a good track record of respect for customary laws and self- determination intending to support ICCs/IPs in the documentation of their ICCAs. This may include non-government organizations (NGOS), the academe, church-based organizations and other similar civic organizations; (e) Biological Diversity or Biodiversity - the variability among organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part. This includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems; (f) Ecosystem services - the benefits people obtain from ecosystems, which include: (a) provisioning services such as food, water, timber, and fiber; (b) regulating services that affect climate, floods, disease, wastes, and water quality; (c) cultural services that provide recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual benefits; (d) supporting services such as soil formation, photosynthesis, and nutrient cycling; (g) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) - the process that involves evaluating and predicting the likely impacts of a project (including cumulative impacts) on the environment during construction, commissioning, operation and abandonment. It also includes designing measures appropriate preventive, mitigating and enhancement addressing these consequences to protect the environment and the community's welfare. (h) Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) - the consensus of all members of the ICCS/IPs to be determined in accordance with their respective customary laws and practices, free from any external manipulation, interference and coercion, and obtained after fully disclosing the intent and scope of the activity, in a language and process understandable to the community; (i) Indigenous Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCA) - the ancestral domains and lands, and parts thereof, that is identified, protected, conserved, and sustainably used by ICCs/IPs pursuant to their indigenous knowledge, systems, and practices, and in accordance with

customary laws and other effective means since time immemorial. It is characterized by natural or with modified ecosystems, containing significant biodiversity values, ecological benefits and cultural and spiritual values; For purposes of this law, all ICCAs shall be considered as environmentally critical areas (ECAs). (i) Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCS/IPs) - groups of people or homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by others, who have continuously lived as organized community on communally bounded and defined territory, and who have, under claims of ownership since time immemorial, occupied, possessed and utilized such territories, sharing common bonds of language, customs, traditions and other distinctive cultural traits, or who have, through resistance to political, social and cultural inroads of colonization, non-indigenous religions and cultures, became historically differentiated from the majority of Filipinos. ICCs/IPs shall likewise include peoples who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, at the time of conquest or colonization, or at the time of inroads of non-indigenous religions and cultures, or the establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions, but who may have been displaced from their traditional domains or who may have resettled outside their ancestral domains; (k) Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSPs) - the systems, institutions, mechanisms, and technologies comprising a unique body of knowledge evolved through time that embody patterns of relationships between and among peoples and between peoples, their lands and resource environment, including such spheres of relationships which may include social, political, cultural, economic, religious spheres, and which are the direct outcome of the indigenous peoples, responses to certain needs consisting of adaptive mechanisms which have allowed indigenous peoples to survive and thrive within their given socio-cultural and biophysical conditions; (1) Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) - the sites of global significance for biodiversity conservation identified using globally standard criteria and thresholds, based on the needs of biodiversity requiring safeguards at the site scale. These criteria are based on the framework of vulnerability and irreplaceability widely used in systematic conservation planning; (m) National ICCA Registry - the national information management

system that contains records on pertinent information on ICCAs; (n) Native Title - pre-conquest rights to lands and domains which, as far back as memory reaches, have been held under a claim of private ownership by ICCs/IPs, have never been public lands and are thus indisputably presumed to have been held that way since before the Spanish Conquest; (o) Sustainable traditional resource rights (STRRs) - the rights of ICCs/IPs to sustainably use, manage, protect and conserve a) land, air, water, and minerals; b) plants, animals and other organisms; c) collecting, fishing and hunting grounds; d) sacred sites; and e) other areas of economic, ceremonial and aesthetic value in accordance with their indigenous knowledge, beliefs, systems and practices.

Sec. 4. Scope and Coverage. - This Act shall apply to all ancestral domains

and lands, whether held by native title or formally recognized under a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title or Certificate of Ancestral Land Title issued under Republic Act No. 8371. It shall also apply to ancestral domains and lands within national parks or protected areas under Republic Act No. 7586, as amended by Republic Act No. 11038, otherwise known as the "Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018 (ENIPAS Act)., otherwise known as the "National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992". CHAPTER II INDIGENOUS CULTURAL COMMUNITIES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES CONSERVED TERRITORIES AND AREAS (ICCAS)

Sec. 5. Guiding Principles. - The following are guidelines in recognizing the

Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs): (a) The rights to land and self-determination include the full recognition of the traditional resources, rights and practices of ICCs/IPs, as well as their right to access, maintain, protect, conserve, regulate ICCAs and exclude unauthorized intrusion into these areas; (b) The primacy of customary laws and indigenous knowledge systems and practices (IKSPs) in the governance and management of ICCAs shall be recognized and respected; (c) The ICCs/IPs shall govern their conserved territories and areas and ensure the preservation, restoration, and maintenance of ecological

balance and biodiversity therein with the assistance of government agencies; (d) The ICCAs shall be considered in the formulation of national, regional and local policies, plans and programs; and (e) The ICCs/IPs shall receive fair and equitable share in the benefits derived from the ecosystem services provided by ICCAs and other activities as authorized by the ICCs/IPs themselves.

Sec. 6. Recognition of ICCAs. - The ICCs/IPs shall define and declare the

conserved areas within their ancestral domains and lands in accordance with their indigenous political structures, cultures and traditions. The declaration of ICCAS shall be respected as an exercise of the self- governance, self-determination and sustainable traditional resource rights of the ICCs/IPs. It shall be recognized by all national agencies and local government units (LGUS) as another category of protected areas that are owned, controlled, governed and managed by ICCs/IPs themselves. The ICCAs shall be subject to the provisions of this Act. For purposes of this Act, all ICCAs shall be considered as environmentally critical areas. The requirement of free and prior informed consent (FPIC) shall be strictly complied with to undertake allowable activities within the ICCAs. No provision in this Act granting or recognizing the rights and privileges of ICCs/IPs in the ICCAs shall be construed to diminish their rights and privileges in non- ICCA areas of the ancestral domains or lands.

Sec. 7. Protection of ICCAs. - The ICCAs shall be reserved for the exclusive

use of ICCs/IPs exercising their sustainable traditional resource rights. Activities that are not included as sustainable traditional resource rights and activities by a person who is not a member of ICCs/iPs may only be allowed within the ICCAs, Provided, That the activities are: (a) Permitted by the ICCs/IPs in accordance with customary laws; (b) Consistent with their cultural and spiritual values; (c) Compatible with conservation concepts; and (d) Not among the prohibited acts enumerated in Section 25 of this Act.

Sec. 8. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system. - All projects within

or outside the ICCA that have potential adverse impacts on the conserved territories and areas are subject to EIA.

The participation of the ICCs/IPs, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are required in the conduct of the EIA of ICCAs. The customary laws, the IKSPs of the ICCs/IPs and the social acceptability of the project shall be considered in the assessment. The EIA should be concluded and reported for consideration during the FPIC process.

Sec. 9. ICCAs in Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs). - The ICC/IPs shall govern,

maintain, restore and develop the ICCAs key biodiversity areas (KBAs) in accordance with their customary laws and in a manner consistent with the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity found therein.

Sec. 10. Indigenous Community Conserved Areas Designations. - The

designation by the ICCs/IPs of the ICCA, and the places and components therein, shall be respected, used and promoted in all official documents. CHAPTER III NATIONAL INDIGENOUS CULTURAL COMMUNITIES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES CONSERVED TERRITORIES AND AREAS REGISTRY

Sec. 11. The National ICCA Registry. - To ensure the availability of official

information on ICCAs, a National ICCA Registry, hereinafter referred to as the "Registry", is hereby established. The Registry is the official information management system that contains records of all pertinent information regarding the ICCAs, voluntarily submitted by ICCs/IPs. The Registry shall contain the following information: (a) Name of the ICCs/IPs; (b) A map generated from the delineation of the ICCAs with the corresponding technical description; (c) Brief description of governance structure; (d) Policies on resource use; (e) Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) and Certificate of Ancestral Lands Title," if applicable. (f) Relevant portions of the Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP) containing information on the ICCAs; and (g) Contact person/s.

Sec. 12. Operational Structures of the Registry. - The DENR through the

Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), shall be the main repository and

administrator of the Registry. It shall organize store and update all information that may be contained in the Registry, and shall be responsible for the documentation, administration and maintenance of the Registry. All information and data in the Registry shall be obtained from the ICCs/IPs providing who registered and provided such information. The information and data submitted shall be considered as part of the community intellectual property rights. The intellectual property rights of the ICCs/IPs shall be protected and respected.

Sec. 13. Creation of a Steering Committee. - A Steering Committee is created

to define policy, provide directions and perform oversight functions in the administration and maintenance of the Registry. The Steering Committee shall be composed of the following: (a) A representative from the DENR; (b) A representative from the NCIP; (c) A representative from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG); (d) A representative from the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB); (e) A representative from recognized civil society organizations (CSOs); and (f) Two (2) representatives from ICCs/IPs.

Sec. 14. ICCAs Registration. - The ICCs/IPs shall initiate the documentation

and registration of their ICCAs in the Registry with appropriate financial and technical support from the NCIP and the DENR or assisting organizations. If the ICCs/IPs seek the assistance of the NCIP and the DENR in the registration of the ICCAs, the following steps shall be undertaken: (a) The ICCs/IPs shall request the NCIP to assist in documenting their ICCAs; (b) The NCIP shall assist the community in documenting the ICCAs with the support of the DENR, delineate the same; (c) The NCIP shall facilitate the formulation of a Community Conservation Plan; and (d) The NCIP shall submit the documentation of the ICCAs and other pertinent documents to the DENR for inclusion in the Registry.

If the ICCs/IPs undertake the documentation by themselves with the support of assisting organizations, the NCIP and the DENR shall verify and affirm the documentation and pertinent documents submitted before the ICCAs may be included in the Registry. The map, complete with technical description and a brief description of the natural features and landmarks of the ICCAs to be registered and included in the Registry shall be posted at the local, provincial and regional office of the NCIP, and 9 shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks to allow others to file opposition papers within fifteen (15) days.

Sec. 15. Procedure for Delisting from the Registry. - If the ICCs/IPs

determined that the ICCA no longer serves the purpose for which it was defined and declared, the ICCs/IPs may cause the delisting of the same through a procedure provided in the Implementing Rules and Regulations of this Act.

Sec. 16. Inclusion of ICCAs in the LGUs Plan. - The LGUs shall include in their

Regional Physical Framework Plans, Provincial Physical Framework Plans, Comprehensive Land and Water Use Plans (CLWUP), Community Development Plans (CDP), Forest Land Use Plans (FLUP), Barangay Development Plans (BDPs), the Ancestral Domains Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP), and other relevant plans on the ICCAs that have been declared and recorded in the Registry by the ICCS/IPS.

Sec. 17. ICCAs within the Protected Areas. - In cases where ICCAs are in the

protected areas established under RA No. 7586 or the NIPAS Act, the ICCS/IPs concerned shall have the authority to govern, maintain, develop, protect and conserve the areas in accordance with their customary laws and IKSPs, with financial and technical assistance from the NCIP, the DENR, LGUs and other concerned government agencies. A mechanism for coordination and complementation between the indigenous traditional leadership and governance, the NCIP, the DENR, concerned LGUs and other government agencies shall be established. The absence of such mechanism shall not in any way stall, diminish, or suspend the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Sec. 18. ICCAs Governance. - The ICCAs shall be governed by the ICCs/IPs in

accordance with their customary laws, indigenous knowledge systems and practices, structures and mechanisms, provided that any co-management with, or

relinquishment of management by ICCs/IPs, in accordance with Sec. 58 of IPRA, and

Sec. 13 of ENIPAS.

The application of customary laws, indigenous knowledge, systems and practices, structures and mechanisms by the ICCs/IPs within and outside their ICCAs shall be presumed to be a sustainable traditional resource right (STRR) and shall not be subject to prior approval or validation by the other government agencies and parties. The burden of proof that certain acts or practices are not in accordance with the STRR shall lie with the party making the assertion. Any conflict that may arise within the ICCAs shall be primarily resolved through customary laws and traditional conflict resolution mechanisms. CHAPTER IV ROLE OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Sec. 19. Role of the NCIP. - The NCIP shall be the primary government

agency responsible for the full implementation of this Act. It shall protect and promote the interest and well-being of the ICCs/IPs in the context of biodiversity conservation and community resilience. The NCIP shall create the Ancestral Domain Protection and Sustainable Development Office, and shall receive requests from the ICCs/IPs. It shall coordinate with the DENR all activities related to the documentation, community conservation, planning and registration of ICCAs. It shall provide full and effective financial and technical assistance on the following: (a) Capacity building and enhancement in the identification, documentation, and recognition of ICCAs; (b) Preparation of Community Conservation Plans (CCP), and integrating them in the ADSDPP; and (c) Interfacing of the ADSDPP into other relevant planning frameworks. The NCIP shall also be responsible for the verification and affirmation of information submitted by ICCs/IPs who undertake the documentation by themselves, for inclusion in the Registry of ICCAs. The NCIP shall take into account the issues and concerns on ICCA in all management planning and decision-making processes of the ICCs/IPs. The NCIP shall also be member of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), as provided in the ENIPAS Act, where ancestral domains and lands overlap with protected areas or declared ICCAs. The NCIP, through its regional offices, shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over all claims and disputes involving ICCAs; Provided, however, that no

such dispute shall be brought to the NCIP unless the parties have exhausted all remedies provided under their customary laws, provided further that when one of the parties is not a member of the ICCS/IPs, traditional conflict resolutions mechanisms shall apply. For this purpose, a certification shall be issued by the Council of Elders/Leaders who participated in the attempt to settle the dispute that the same has not been resolved, which certification shall be a condition precedent to the filing of a petition with the NCIP.

Sec. 20. Role of the DENR. - The DENR shall, upon the formal request of the

ICCs/IPs, provide financial and technical support for delineation and mapping, and biodiversity assessment of ICCA and in the listing or registration of ICCA with the Registry and similar global platforms or networks. Enforcement of the preventive mechanisms and penal provisions of this Act shall also be vested in the DENR. The agency shall also take into account the issues and concerns on ICCAs in all management planning and decision-making processes of the ICCs/IPs. The government shall provide funds for the publication of the ICCAs.

Sec. 21. Role of Other Government Agencies and LGUs. - Consistent with

their respective mandates and upon formal request by ICCs/IPs, national government agencies and LGUs shall provide financial and technical assistance in building and strengthening the capacity of the requesting ICCs/IPs to manage their ICCA. The NCIP and the DENR, in partnership with the DILG, shall devise an incentive scheme for LGUs that will adopt and include ICCAs in the Regional and Provincial Physical Framework Plans, Comprehensive Land and Water Use Plans (CLWUP), Community Development Plan (CDP), Forest Land Use Plan (FLUP) and other relevant plans and programs. The NCIP and the DENR, in partnership with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), shall create or improve on existing data gathering methods for a complete and centralized ICCA registry. In partnership with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the NCIP, the DENR, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) shall formulate a framework to prioritize national government programs and projects that support ICCAs.

Sec. 22. Engagement with the Private Sector and Civil Society to Recognize

ICCAs. - The ICCs/IPs, the NCIP and the DENR shall actively engage and collaborate

with the private sector and the civil society in raising public awareness and recognition 2 of ICCAs, and in obtaining specialized assistance and service, subject to the FPIC requirements of the concerned ICCs/IPs. Public participation in the protection, conservation, and sustainable use ICCAs, especially at the local level, shall be encouraged to maximize conservation and community benefits. CHAPTER V INCENTIVES

Sec. 23. Incentive Scheme. - ICCAs listed in the Registry shall be prioritized

for biodiversity conservation, forest cover, protection of ancestral waters, and as reforestation project sites. Where appropriate and available, government financial institutions and other government agencies shall provide financial and technical assistance to ICCs/IPs for the protection and promotion of their registered covered territories and areas, particularly in the establishment and implementation of payment schemes for ecosystem services provided by the ICCAs. In all cases, the rights, interests and well-being of the ICCs/IPs shall be of paramount concern.

Sec. 24. Sustainable Livelihoods. - The NCIP, the DENR, and other relevant

government agencies shall support sustainable livelihood opportunities, including biodiversity-friendly livelihoods that are identified and defined by ICCs/IPs consistent with traditional practices and resource use that contribute to the sustainable use and proper management of the ICCAs. CHAPTER VI PENAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 25. Prohibited Acts. - It shall be unlawful for any person to commit the

following acts within the ICCAs: (a) Establishing heavy industries such as non-ferrous metal industries, iron and steel mills, petroleum and petro-chemical industries including oil and gas, and smelting plants; (b) Establishing resource extractive industries such as exploration, extraction and development of mining and quarrying projects, forestry projects including logging, and major wood processing projects; introduction of fauna, exotic animals, forest occupancy, extraction of mangrove products, grazing, fishery projects like dikes or fishpond development projects;

(c) Building infrastructure projects such as major dams, major power plants including fossil-fueled, nuclear-fueled, hydroelectric or geothermal, major reclamation projects, major roads and bridges; (d) Building golf course projects; (e) Using or intruding on any portion of the ICCA for any authorized or unlawful purpose; (f) Conducting mineral exploration, extraction, and development, quarrying and other destructive forms of natural resource exploitation, development, and utilization; (g) Logging by non-members of the IP community; (h) Mutilating, defacing, removing, or otherwise destroying objects that have cultural, spiritual or ecological significance to ICCs/IPs; (i) Dumping of waste products detrimental to flora and fauna; (i) Squatting, mineral locating, or otherwise occupying any land declared as ICCA; (k) Using any motorized equipment, except of enhancing traditional resource rights; (l) Altering, removing destroying or defacing boundary marks or signs; (m) Constructing or maintaining any kind of structure, fence or enclosures; (n) Fishing through the use of explosives, noxious or poisonous substance or electricity; (o) Gathering, selling, possessing, transport or sale of corals; (p) Gathering, selling or exporting sand, silica, pebbles and any other substances used as marine habitat; (q) Converting mangroves into fishponds or for any other purposes; (r) Fishing or taking for commercial purposes rare, threatened or endangered species listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) or those determined as such by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and by the Biodiversity Management Bureau of the DENR; (s) Generating aquatic pollution; and (t) Converting ICCAs into industrial land use and special economic zones.

Sec. 26. Penalties. - Any individual, corporation, partnership, association or

36 juridical entity who commits any of the prohibited acts enumerated under Section 25 of this Act shall upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment of not less than six months but not more than six (6) years or a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos

1 (P50,000.00) but not more than Fifty million pesos (P50,000,000.00) or both, at the discretion of the court. The offender, upon conviction, shall also provide restitution commensurate to the cost of the destroyed ecosystem and the cost of rehabilitation of the ecosystem as agreed upon with the ICCs/IPs. If the offender is a government official or employee, the offender shall, in addition to imprisonment and fine, be perpetually disqualified from holding public office. Any object and instrumentality used in committing any of the prohibited acts under Section 25 of this Act shall be confiscated and forfeited in favor of the government. If the offender is a juridical entity, the penalty of imprisonment and fine shall be imposed upon its manager, director, representative or employee responsible for the violation without prejudice to the cancellation or revocation of the license or accreditation of the offender, issued by any licensing or accredited body of the government. If the offender is an alien, the offender shall be deported immediately after service of the sentence. The prosecution of offenses under Section 25 of this Act shall be without prejudice to any liability for violation of Republic Act No. 8371, as amended, otherwise known as the "Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997" or other criminal and civil liabilities under existing laws. CHAPTER VII FINAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 27. Annual Report. - The Chairperson of the NCIP shall submit to the

President of the Philippines and to the Congress an annual progress report on the implementation of this Act. The report shall be posted on the website of the NCIP.

Sec. 28. Construction. - The provisions of this Act shall be construed liberally

in favor of ICCs/IPs and in the protection and conservation of biodiversity.

Sec. 29. Appropriations. - The amount necessary to cover the initial

implementation of this Act shall be charged against the current year's appropriations of the concerned departments/agency. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for its continued implementation shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Sec. 30. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90) days from

the approval of this Act, the Chairperson of the NCIP and the Secretary of the DENR shall, in consultation with appropriate government agencies and with the full participation of ICCs/IPs, issue the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

Sec. 31. Separability Clause. - If any part or provision of this Act is declared

invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain in full force and effect.

Sec. 32. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations

and other issuances, or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Sec. 33. Saving Clause. - This Act shall not in any manner adversely affect

the rights and benefits of the ICCs/IPs under RA 8371, conventions, recommendations, international treaties, national laws, awards, customs and agreements.

Sec. 34. Effectivity, - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,