Indigenous people’s land titling being undertaken

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples in Negros Oriental has extended assistance to the local indigenous groups in the acquisition of land titles for their ancestral domains.

NCIP-Negros Oriental head Ronita Capuno said the national government wanted to give back to the indigenous people the lands occupied and owned by their forefathers, through generations in the past. She lauded the support and cooperation of the local government units in the province in helping the NCIP for this purpose.

Capuno however said she could not yet ascertain the exact number of IPs and ancestral domains that were either processed or granted titles. There were lots, or ancestral domains, at the Bais-Mabinay area that were already approved for titling by the government, she said.

There are more than 20 indigenous cultural communities from Basay town, in the southernmost part of the province, and in Canlaon City in the northernmost part, which were recognized by the NCIP, said Capuno.

These communities are mostly composed of the Ata and Bukidnon tribes, with a few from Bukidnon/Magahat tribe, with almost 30,000 individuals listed, she said.

The NCIP has three offices in Negros Oriental—Bayawan City, Bais City and Guihulngan City—to cater to the needs of the IPs in the province’s three congressional districts.