The Philippines’ highest court has ruled that Baguio City is exempt from provisions of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997 or Republic Act No. 8371, particularly concerning land and ancestral claims.
In a decision by the Supreme Court (SC) promulgated on July 30 of this year, and publicly released by the court on social media on Wednesday, the court affirmed the city’s exemption through Section 78 of the IPRA.
The decision stemmed from the heirs of Joan Gorio and Lauro Carantes, who had filed an ancestral claim for land in Baguio City, claiming that they belong to the Ibaloi indigenous community. The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) granted the claim and issued certificates of ancestral land titles.
The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) challenged in court the NCIP title grant, citing Section 78 of the IPRA that states Baguio will be governed by its charter and that its townsite reservation lands remain as such unless reclassified by law, thus making the NCIP certificates null and void. The SC then ruled in favor of the OSG motion.
The decision was made in July of 2023, at which point the NCIP and the Carantes claimants filed a motion for reconsideration, which was then struck down nearly a full year later when the SC this year denied the motion for reconsideration.
The SC held that Baguio City is not subject to the IPRA due to its designation as a townsite reservation. It emphasized that the IPRA does not override earlier proclamations granting property rights, in this case, in favor of the government.
The SC clarified that Baguio’s exemption from the IPRA with regard to land claims does not prevent indigenous peoples from claiming land if they can establish that they have had continuous occupation and possession of the land since time immemorial, even within a townsite reservation.
However, the Carantes heirs were unable to prove such occupation and ownership, and were, therefore, denied their claims.
NCIP, Baguio council to discuss city IPRA exemption after SC ruling
The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Baguio City council are set to hold a joint session to discuss the recently affirmed exemption of Baguio City regarding ancestral land claims from the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA).
The Supreme Court (SC) in July promulgated a decision that had affirmed Baguio City’s exemption from the normal ancestral land claim rules under the IPRA. Section 78 specifically states that Baguio is exempt from these rules and is governed by its own charter, which protects its lands under its townsite reservation.
Since the city’s declaration as a townsite reservation in 1909, over the years, significant portions of Baguio have been reclassified as government reservations, such as the area where the Philippine Military Academy was established.
While Congress passed an update to the city’s charter through Republic Act 11689 in 2022, the IPRA continues to be the main law governing ancestral lands in the city, where Section 78 continues to prevent certificates of ancestral land titles (CALTs) from being issued.
The local Ibaloi community has been hit by this exemption, as the community has been hamstrung when it comes to legally claiming their ancestral properties.
During a special council session last week, NCIP Commissioner Gasper Cayat called on local lawmakers to lobby for the amendment or repeal of Section 78 of IPRA.
The NCIP and Baguio council are set to hold another joint session by late December or early 2025 to address the repeal of Section 78 and other issues governing ancestral lands.
