Cruz and Europa v. Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources

archipelago, were, at that time, practicing a native culture. From the time the Spaniards arrived up to the early part of the American regime,[12] these native inhabitants resisted foreign invasion, relentlessly fighting for their lands. Today, from the remote uplands of Northern Luzon, to Palawan, Mindoro and Mindanao, the indigenous peoples continue to live on and cultivate their ancestral lands, the lands of their forefathers. Though Filipinos today are essentially of the same stock as the indigenous peoples, our national culture exhibits only the last vestiges of this native culture. Centuries of colonial rule and neocolonial domination have created a discernible distinction between the cultural majority and the group of cultural minorities.[13] The extant Philippine national culture is the culture of the majority; its indigenous roots were replaced by foreign cultural elements that are decidedly pronounced, if not dominant.[14] While the culture of the majority reoriented itself to Western influence, the culture of the minorities has retained its essentially native character. One of every six Filipinos is a member of an indigenous cultural community. Around twelve million Filipinos are members of the one hundred and ten or so indigenous cultural communities,[15] accounting for more than seventeen per centum of the estimated seventy million Filipinos[16] in our country. Sadly, the indigenous peoples are one of the poorest sectors of Philippine society. The incidence of poverty and malnutrition among them is significantly higher than the national average. The indigenous peoples are also among the most powerless. Perhaps because of their inability to speak the language of law and power, they have been relegated to the fringes of society. They have little, if any, voice in national politics and enjoy the least protection from economic exploitation. The Constitutional Policies on Indigenous Peoples The framers of the 1987 Constitution, looking back to the long destitution of our less fortunate brothers, fittingly saw the historic opportunity to actualize the ideals of people empowerment and social justice, and to reach out particularly to the marginalized sectors of society, including the indigenous peoples. They incorporated in the fundamental law several provisions recognizing and protecting the rights and interests of the indigenous peoples, to wit: Sec. 22. The State recognizes and promotes the rights of indigenous peoples within the framework of national unity and development.[17] Sec. 5. The State, subject to the provisions of this Constitution and national development policies and programs, shall protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to their ancestral lands to ensure their economic, social, and cultural well-being. The Congress may provide for the applicability of customary laws governing property rights and relations in determining the ownership and extent of ancestral domains.[18] Sec. 1. The Congress shall give the highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all the people to human dignity, reduce social, economic and political inequalities, and remove cultural inequities by equitably diffusing wealth and political power for the common good. To this end, the State shall regulate the acquisition, ownership, use and disposition of property and its increments.[19] Sec. 6. The State shall apply the principles of agrarian reform or stewardship, whenever applicable in accordance with law, in the disposition and utilization of other natural resources, including lands