Cruz and Europa v. Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources

domains; x x x [61] Section 3(l) Native Title - refers to pre-conquest rights to lands and domains which, as far back as memory reaches, have been held under a claim of private ownership by ICCs/IPs, have never been public lands and are thus indisputably presumed to have been held that way since before the Spanish Conquest; x x x Section 3(p) Time Immemorial - refers to a period of time when as far back as memory can go, certain ICCs/IPs are known to have occupied, possessed in the concept of owners, and utilized a defined territory devolved to them, by operation of customary law or inherited from their ancestors, in accordance with their customs and traditions. [62] Section 3(b) Ancestral Lands - Subject to Section 56 hereof, refers to land occupied, possessed and utilized by individuals, families and clans who are members of the ICCs/IPs since time immemorial, by themselves or through their predecessors-in-interest, under claims of individual or traditional group ownership, continuously to the present except when interrupted by war, force majeure or displacement by force, deceit, stealth, or as a consequence of government projects or any other voluntary dealings entered into by the government and private individuals/corporations, including, but not limited to, residential lots, rice terraces or paddies, private forests, swidden farms and tree lots; [63] Section 3(a) Ancestral Domains - Subject to Section 56 hereof, refer to all areas generally belonging to ICCs/IPs comprising lands, inland waters, coastal areas and natural resources therein, held under a claim of ownership, occupied or possessed by Indigenous peoples, by themselves or through their ancestors, communally or individually since time immemorial, continuously to the present except when interrupted by war, force majeure or displacement by force, deceit, stealth or as a consequence of government projects or any other voluntary dealings entered into by the government and private individuals/corporations, and which are necessary to ensure their economic, social and cultural welfare. It shall include ancestral lands, forests, pasture, residential, agricultural, and other lands individually owned whether alienable and disposable or otherwise, hunting grounds, burial grounds, worship areas, bodies of water, mineral and other resources, and lands which may no longer be exclusively be occupied by Indigenous peoples but from which they traditionally had access to for their subsistence and traditional activities, particularly the home ranges of ICCs/IPs who are still nomadic and/or shifting cultivators. [64] Ibid. [65] Hebron v. Reyes, 104 Phil. 175 (1958); San Miguel Corporation v. Avelino, 89 SCRA 69 (1979). [66] In re Guarina, 24 Phil 37 (1913). [67] See Lee Hong Hok vs. David, 48 SCRA 372 (1972). [68] PEÑA, REGISTRATION OF LAND TITLES AND DEEDS, 1994 rev. ed., p. 15. [69] 1 BOUVIER'S LAW DICTIONARY, 3rd revision, p. 1759. [70] BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY, 6th ed., p. 1282. [71] 76 CORPUS JURIS SECUNDUM, citing Hart v. Burnett, 15 Cal. 530, 566. [72] WASHBURN, p. 44; see also WILLIAMS, PRINCIPLES OF THE LAW ON REAL PROPERTY, 6th ed.