Cruz and Europa v. Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources

given the responsibility to maintain, develop, protect and conserve the ancestral domains or portions thereof which are found to be necessary for critical watersheds, mangroves, wildlife sanctuaries, wilderness, protected areas, forest cover, or reforestation.[141] The Solicitor General argues that these provisions deny the State an active and dominant role in the utilization of our country's natural resources. Petitioners, on the other hand, allege that under the Constitution the exploration, development and utilization of natural resources may only be undertaken by the State, either directly or indirectly through co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements.[142] To petitioners, no other method is allowed by the Constitution. They likewise submit that by vesting ownership of ancestral lands and ancestral domains in the indigenous peoples, IPRA necessarily gives them control over the use and enjoyment of such natural resources, to the prejudice of the State.[143] Section 2, Article XII of the Constitution provides in paragraph 1 thereof that the exploration, development and utilization of natural resources must be under the full control and supervision of the State, which may directly undertake such activities or enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements. This provision, however, should not be read in isolation to avoid a mistaken interpretation that any and all forms of utilization of natural resources other than the foregoing are prohibited. The Constitution must be regarded as consistent with itself throughout.[144] No constitutional provision is to be separated from all the others, or to be considered alone, all provisions bearing upon a particular subject are to be brought into view and to be so interpreted as to effectuate the great purposes of the fundamental law.[145] In addition to the means of exploration, development and utilization of the country's natural resources stated in paragraph 1, Section 2 of Article XII, the Constitution itself states in the third paragraph of the same section that Congress may, by law, allow small-scale utilization of natural resources by its citizens.[146] Further, Section 6, Article XIII, directs the State, in the disposition and utilization of natural resources, to apply the principles of agrarian reform or stewardship.[147] Similarly, Section 7, Article XIII mandates the State to protect the rights of subsistence fishermen to the preferential use of marine and fishing resources.[148] Clearly, Section 2, Article XII, when interpreted in view of the pro-Filipino, pro-poor philosophy of our fundamental law, and in harmony with the other provisions of the Constitution rather as a sequestered pronouncement,[149] cannot be construed as a prohibition against any and all forms of utilization of natural resources without the State's direct participation. Through the imposition of certain requirements and conditions for the exploration, development and utilization of the natural resources under existing laws,[150] the State retains full control over such activities, whether done on small-scale basis[151] or otherwise. The rights given to the indigenous peoples regarding the exploitation of natural resources under Sections 7(b) and 57 of IPRA amplify what has been granted to them under existing laws, such as the Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991 (R.A. 7076) and the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 (R.A. 7942). R.A. 7076 expressly provides that should an ancestral land be declared as a people's small-scale mining area, the members of the indigenous peoples living within said area shall be given priority in the awarding of small-scale mining contracts.[152] R.A. 7942 declares that no ancestral land shall be opened for mining operations without the prior consent of the indigenous cultural community concerned[153] and in the event that the members of such indigenous cultural community give their consent to mining operations within their ancestral land, royalties shall be paid to them by the parties to the mining to the contract.[154] In any case, a careful reading of Section 7(b) would reveal that the rights given to the indigenous peoples are duly circumscribed. These rights are limited only to the following: "to manage and conserve natural resources within territories and uphold it for future generations; to benefit and share the profits from allocation and utilization of the natural resources found therein; to negotiate the terms and conditions for the exploration of natural resources in the areas for the purpose of ensuring ecological, environmental protection and the