Taguibo Watershed Issue
THE IPRA RHAPSODY: A PARADOX OR A HOAX
A Legal Research by Joan Paglinawan Libarios on the Taguibo Watershed Issue: Scope and Limitation of Priority Right in the Indigenous Peoples Right Act (IPRA) and the Government’s Power in Protecting the Environment
“You ask if we own the land. . . How can you own that which will outlive you? Only the race own the land because only the race lives forever. To claim a piece of land is a birthright of every man. The lowly animals claim their place; how much more man? Man is born to live. Apu Kabunian, lord of us all, gave us life and placed us in the world to live human lives. And where shall we obtain life? From the land. To work (the land) is an obligation, not merely a right. In tilling the land, you possess it. And so land is a grace that must be nurtured. To enrich it and make it fructify is the eternal exhortation of Apu Kabunian to all his children. Land is sacred. Land is beloved. From its womb springs …life.”1 Macli-ing Dulag Chieftain of the Kalinga Tribe
1
Quoted in Ponciano L. Bennagen, "Tribal Filipinos" in Indigenous View of Land and the Environment, ed. Shelton H. Davis, the World Bank Discussion Papers, No. 188, pp. 71-72.
2
PROBLEMS AND OUTLINE
A study on the parameters of the Priority Right in the Indigenous Peoples Right Act (IPRA) and the government’s power in protecting the environment in relation to the Taguibo watershed issue encompasses two controversial spheres—the centuries old struggle of the indigenous peoples to rights recognition and the unending controversies of the government’s roles in the firm implementation of its powers in protecting the environment. Safely stated, the latter concerns the authority of the State or its scope of jurisdiction over issues concerning the protection, utilization and rehabilitation of the environment for the present generation and the next yet to come.
Protecting the environment has always been a serious issue for the government. As the
A Legal Research by Joan Paglinawan Libarios on the Taguibo Watershed Issue: Scope and Limitation of Priority Right in the Indigenous Peoples Right Act (IPRA) and the Government’s Power in Protecting the Environment
“You ask if we own the land. . . How can you own that which will outlive you? Only the race own the land because only the race lives forever. To claim a piece of land is a birthright of every man. The lowly animals claim their place; how much more man? Man is born to live. Apu Kabunian, lord of us all, gave us life and placed us in the world to live human lives. And where shall we obtain life? From the land. To work (the land) is an obligation, not merely a right. In tilling the land, you possess it. And so land is a grace that must be nurtured. To enrich it and make it fructify is the eternal exhortation of Apu Kabunian to all his children. Land is sacred. Land is beloved. From its womb springs …life.”1 Macli-ing Dulag Chieftain of the Kalinga Tribe
1
Quoted in Ponciano L. Bennagen, "Tribal Filipinos" in Indigenous View of Land and the Environment, ed. Shelton H. Davis, the World Bank Discussion Papers, No. 188, pp. 71-72.
2
PROBLEMS AND OUTLINE
A study on the parameters of the Priority Right in the Indigenous Peoples Right Act (IPRA) and the government’s power in protecting the environment in relation to the Taguibo watershed issue encompasses two controversial spheres—the centuries old struggle of the indigenous peoples to rights recognition and the unending controversies of the government’s roles in the firm implementation of its powers in protecting the environment. Safely stated, the latter concerns the authority of the State or its scope of jurisdiction over issues concerning the protection, utilization and rehabilitation of the environment for the present generation and the next yet to come.
Protecting the environment has always been a serious issue for the government. As the