ABSTRACT
The Philippines 1997 Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) is one of the strongest national laws protecting indigenous rights in existence. It recognizes a wide range of rights held by the country’s numerous indigenous groups, including clear land rights over ancestral domains; a considerable measure of self-government within these territories; the right to ‘freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development’; and rights to ‘preserve and protect their culture, traditions and institutions’. The state is charged with guaranteeing and upholding these rights, and furthermore must consider them in the formulation of all national plans and policies. The act also establishes a National Commission on Indigenous Peoples to carry out the act’s provisions, with members chosen by the president, based on a list of nominations submitted by indigenous communities from around the country.
