Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997

portion of the ancestral domain taking into consideration the consensus approval of the ICCs/IPs concerned; n) To decide all appeals from the decisions and acts of all the various offices within the Commission; 0) To promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of this Act; p) To exercise such other powers and functions as may be directed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines; and q) To represent the Philippine ICCs/IPs in all international conferences and conventions dealing with indigenous peoples and other related concerns. SECTION 45. Accessibility and Transparency. — Subject to such limitations as may be provided by law or by rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, all official records, documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions, as well as research data used as basis for policy development of the Commission shall be made accessible to the public. SECTION 46. Offices within the NCIP. — The NCIP shall have the following offices which shall be responsible for the implementation of the policies hereinafter provided: a) Ancestral Domains Office — The Ancestral Domain Office shall be responsible for the identification, delineation and recognition of ancestral lands/domains. It shall also be responsible for the management of ancestral lands/domains in accordance with a master plan as well as the implementation of the ancestral domain rights of the ICCs/IPs as provided in Chapter III of this Act. It shall also issue, upon the free and prior informed consent of the ICCs/IPs concerned, certification prior to the grant of any license, lease or permit for the exploitation of natural resources affecting the interests of ICCs/IPs or their ancestral domains and to assist the ICCs/IPs in protecting the territorial integrity of all ancestral domains. It shall likewise perform such other functions as the Commission may deem appropriate and necessary; b) Office on Policy, Planning and Research — The Office on Policy, Planning and Research shall be responsible for the formulation of appropriate policies and programs for ICCs/IPs such as, but not limited to, the development of a Five-Year Master Plan for the ICCs/IPs. Such plan shall undergo a process such that every five years, the Commission shall endeavor to assess the plan and make ramifications in accordance with the changing situations. The Office shall also undertake the documentation of