IPRA Law 1997

IPRA Law 1997 (RA 8371)

• Recognizes, protects, and promotes the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) and Indigenous Peoples (IPs)
• Creates a national commission on IPs
• State shall:
  • Recognize and promote ICC/IP rights
  • Protect ICC/IP rights to ancestral domains, ensuring economic, social, and cultural well-being
  • Recognize, respect, and protect ICC/IP rights to preserve their cultures, traditions, and institutions
  • Guarantee equal enjoyment of human rights and freedoms without discrimination

Definitions

• Ancestral Lands: areas occupied, possessed, and utilized by ICCs/IPs since ancient times
• Ancestral Domains: areas belonging to ICCs/IPs, including lands, waters, coastal areas, and natural resources
• Time Immemorial: period of time when ICCs/IPs occupied, possessed, and utilized a defined territory
• People's Organization: private, nonprofit, voluntary ICC/IP organization
• Non-Government Organization: private, nonprofit organization delivering services to ICCs/IPs
• Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC): consensus of all ICCs/IPs, free from coercion, and obtained after fully disclosing activity intent and scope
• Customary Laws: written and/or unwritten customs and practices traditionally recognized and observed by ICCs/IPs
• National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP): primary government agency responsible for implementing policies/programs to protect and promote ICC/IP rights

FPIC and Mining Activities in Ancestral Domains and Lands

• Requires FPIC to conduct mining activities in ancestral domains and lands
• Minimum agreed royalty payment: 1% of gross output, forming part of a trust fund managed and utilized by ICCs

Mining Engineering Law (RA 4274)

• Board Examiners/Members:
  • Citizen of the Philippines
  • Holder of a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering degree
  • Registered and legally qualified to practice mining engineering
  • Engaged in actual practice of mining engineering for at least 10 years, 5 of which must be in mining engineering
  • Not a member of the faculty of any school teaching mining engineering, geology, and/or metallurgy
  • Recommended by a bona fide professional mining engineering society
• Removal of Board Members:
  • The President may remove any member of the Board for neglect, incompetency, or unprofessional/unethical conduct
• Terms of Office:
  • Members of the Board shall have a term of 3 years after appointment or until their successors are appointed
• Practice of Mining Engineering:
  • No person shall practice mining engineering in the Philippines without being registered as a mining engineer or granted a certificate of exemption
  • Functions that constitute practicing mining engineering include consultation, investigation, mining reports, valuation, and ore reserve calculation
• Qualifications for Examinations:
  • At least 21 years of age
  • If a foreigner, their country accords reciprocity
  • Good reputation and moral character
  • Graduated with at least a Bachelor of Science degree in mining engineering, plus at least 5 years of practical mining experience
• Examinations:
  • Held on the second Monday of January and July of each year
  • Covers mining engineering and economics, mining laws and ethics, metallurgy, ore dressing and assaying, geology and surveying, and applied mathematics
• Revocation of Certificate/License:
  • The Board may revoke a certificate of registration for cause or for the perpetration of fraud or deceit in obtaining the certificate, or for gross negligence, incompetence, or unprofessional, dishonorable, or immoral conduct
  • Grounds for revocation include:
    • Signing documents not prepared by the registrant
    • Representing oneself as having undertaken or supervised work not done
    • Representing oneself as having performed mining engineering services not actually done
    • Representing oneself as having acted as superintendent of a mining operation without having done so