Breaking the legal stalemate: Revisiting the case of Cruz v. DENR in determining the constitutionality of R.A. 8371 or the indigenous peoples Rights Acts of 1997

• Main Authors: Panopio, Ashleigh P., Zapata, Alyssa Ana M.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2008
• Subjects: Commercial Law
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/17744
• Institution: De La Salle University

The indigenous peoples are the most marginalized sector in our society. This is evidenced by the fact that they are the people who are the poorest in the country. The indigenous peoples have also been long neglected by our country as they were long been displaced from their ancestral lands and ancestral domains all in the name of development and private entities who claim that the said lands belong to them. With the enactment of Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997, the indigenous peoples have been given hope that finally their rights to their land have been acknowledged. However, not long after its enactment, several controversies arose. And at the year after, the legality of the said ACT was challenged before the court. The petitioners claim that the Act violated the right of the State with regards to the ownership of the natural resources and that certain provisions of the said Act violated the due process of law, among others. The court had no distinct ruling on whether or not the IPRA was constitutional and so as to grant or dismiss the said petition. The vote was tied 7-7, and after re-deliberating, the voting remained the same. And pursuant to Rule 56, Section 7 of the Rules of Court, the constitutionality of the said Act was upheld. It is then the purpose of this research to resolve whether or not the IPRA is really deemed to be constitutional.