THE PROVINCE OF NORTH COTABATO V.

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES PEACE PANEL ON ANCESTRAL DOMAIN (G.R.
NO. 183591, OCTOBER 14, 2008)
FACTS
The provinces of North Cotabato, Zamboanga Del Norte, Sultan Kudarat and he cities
of Zamboanga, Iligan and Isabela, through their duly elected government officials,
filed a petition to the Supreme Court, assailing the Memorandum of Agreement on
the Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the Republic of the Philippines and MILF.
Several senators also intervened as petititoners in this case. The petitions were
docketed separately and were consolidated for this matter.
The MOA-AD between the Philippines and MILF provides for an agreement to
establish an exclusive territory for the Bangsamoro people in the Mindanao-SuluPalawan area, averring the rights of indigenous people on their ancestral domain.
The assailed MOA-AD includes several provisions akin to the establishment of a
nation-state rather than an autonomous region such as a defined territory known as
Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE), which includes terrestrial, fluvial, alluvial, aerial
domains, etc; right to self-governance, jurisdiction over all natural resources in
internal waters and the requiring of amendments to the Philippines' existing legal
framework after both parties had signed the agreement.
Petitioners do not want to become a part of the BJE. They also object the State's
actions as to the assailed memorandum because there was no consultation with the
LGUs of the areas that will be affected by the memorandum should it take effect,
now with any government agency or the public for that matter. There was no
consultation between the State and IP and ICCs as well.
ISSUE
Whether or not the MOA-AD is contrary to the IPRA and is unconstitutional
RULING
The MOA-AD is contrary to the IPRA as to the delineation and recognition of ancestral
domains.
Section 52 of IPRA provides:
b.) Petition for Delineation
The process of delineating a specific perimeter may be initiated by the NCIP with the
consent of the ICC/IPP concerned, or through a Petition for Delineation filed with the
NCIP, by a majority of the members of the ICCs/IPs;
c.) Delineation Proper
The official delineation of ancestral domain boundaries including census of all
community members therein, shall be immediately undertaken by the Ancestral
Domain Office upon filing of the application by the ICCs/IPs concerned. Delineation
will be done in coordination with the community concerned and shall at all times
include genuine involvement and participation by the members of the communities
concerned.

The IPRA provides for clear-cut procedure for the recognition and delineation of
ancestral domain, which entails, among other things, the observance of the free and
prior informed consent of the Indigenous Cultural Communites ot Indigenous People.
Notably, the statute does not grant the Executive Department or any government
agency the power to delineate and recognize an ancestral domain claim by mere
agreement or compromise. In sum, the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
committed grave abuse of discretion when he failed to carry out the pertinent
consultation process.
The MOA-AD is unconstitutional due to the following matters:

Violation of right to information on matters of public concern

The concept of associated entity as a state is not recognized by the Constitution
(a State cannot exist within a State)
BJE is a far more powerful enity than the autonomous region recognized by the
Constitution

For more information regarding the unconstitutionality of the MOA-AD, please read
the case.