Senator Loren Legarda on Friday, August 16 emphasized anew the importance of indigenous communities in the very survival of the country’s ecosystem.
In her privilege speech delivered on the occasion of National Indigenous Peoples Day, Legarda highlighted the importance of the indigenous knowledge of these communities due to their centuries' worth of expertise in the land that they reside on.
"Our natives serve as the first line of preservers and guardians of our environment and nature," said Legarda, principal sponsor of Republic Act No. 10689, which declared August 9 as National Indigenous Peoples Day.
“It is important for us to recognize that for our indigenous communities, the land of their birth is a continuation of life. We must not only value their rights for their well-being, but for the general welfare of our people,” she stressed.
At the same time, Legarda expressed her alarm over the recent report published by the World Bank, titled "No Data, No Story: Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines,” that provided details from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) that the country has approximately 1,530 ancestral domains covering nearly 26 million hectares.
This represents about 44 percent of all land in the Philippines. But so far, only 257—or a mere 17 percent—have approved Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles or CADTs, and of these only 22 percent are fully registered.
Legarda noted that the estimated ecosystem value of ancestral domains with forest resources stands at around Php1.1 trillion, including carbon capture, water provisioning, soil conservation, and non-timber forest productivity.
"We must actively support and elevate our indigenous communities, recognize their invaluable contributions, and uphold their rights," the lawmaker insisted.
Legarda said the resources dedicated to this cause should not be viewed as mere assistance but as valuable and strategic investments for them and ourselves.
“It is an investment in indigenous knowledge that safeguards our natural resources, an investment in preserving our forests, the purity of our waters, and the richness of our biodiversity,” she stressed.