Supreme Court Upholds Baguio’s Exemption from Indigenous Peoples Rights Act

The Supreme Court has solidified Baguio City’s exemption from the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997, rejecting a motion for reconsideration from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the heirs of Joan Gorio and Lauro Carante. The court’s decision, which was initially made on July 11, 2023, and upheld recently, states that Baguio City falls outside the jurisdiction of IPRA due to its status as a townsite reservation, as outlined in Section 78 of the act. This ruling emphasizes that Baguio’s land rights are governed by its own charter, not by IPRA. The case originated from a 1990 ancestral land claim by the Carantes’ heirs, which was later transferred to the NCIP following the enactment of IPRA. Despite the NCIP’s 2008 approval of their claim, the Supreme Court overruled this, stating that the land within Baguio’s townsite reservation cannot be registered under IPRA. The court clarified that while indigenous peoples can still claim native title to land within reservations if they can prove continuous possession since time immemorial, the Carantes’ heirs failed to demonstrate such ongoing possession. The Supreme Court’s decision underscores the distinction between ancestral rights under IPRA and native title claims, setting a precedent for how indigenous land rights are handled within specific government reservations.