RECOMMENDING THE EXCLUSION OF TALAKAIGAN CATCHMENT FROM THE COVERAGE OF THE PENDING APPLICATION OF CABIGAAN CADT AND RECOMMENDING FURTHER THAT THE SAME BE DECLARED BY THE PALAWAN COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (PCSD) AS A SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA PURSUANT TO THE SEP LAW UNDER A SPECIAL MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF THE CONCERNED STAKEHOLDERS

WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 7611 empowers the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) to govern, implement and provide policy direction to the Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) for Palawan;

WHEREAS, Sections 7-11 of said Act provides for the establishment of environmentally Critical Areas Network (ECAN), the main strategy of SEP which is a graded system of protection and development control over the whole of Palawan, including tribal lands, forests, mines, agricultural areas, settlement areas, small islands, mangroves, coral reefs, seagrass beds and the surrounding sea;

WHEREAS, it is the mandate of the PCSD to define a special kind of zonation to fulfill the material and cultural needs of the indigenous peoples using consultative processes and cultural mapping of the ancestral lands;

WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 8371, otherwise known as the Indigenous People Rights Act of 1997, was passed into law to recognize, protect and promote the rights of the indigenous people by instituting and establishing the necessary mechanisms to enforce and guarantee the realization of these rights, taking into consideration their customs, traditions, values, beliefs, interests and institutions, and to adopt and implement measures to protect their rights to their ancestral domains;

WHEREAS, pending before the PCSD is the application of the Tagbanua Tribe for the issuance of Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) in Barangay Cabigaan, Aborlan, Palawan, the processing of which was held in abeyance pursuant to the request of the Municipaliy of Aborlan for the settlement of issues raised therein;

WHEREAS, among the issues identified by the Local Government Unit of Aborlan is Aborlan River Catchment which is the primary source of potable and irrigation waters serving seven (7) barangays within which the majority of the community resides;

WHEREAS, part of the area claimed by the Tagbanua Tribes as part of their application for the issuance of Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) in Cabigaan includes Talakaigan Catchment and its tributaries like Talakaigan river;

WHEREAS, Section 58 of RA 8371 provides that “Ancestral domains or portion thereof, which are found necessary for critical watersheds, mangroves wildlife sanctuaries, wilderness, protected areas, forest cover, or reforestation as determined by the appropriate agencies with the full participation of the ICCs/IPs concerned shall be maintained, managed and developed for such purposes”;

WHEREAS, during the Tribal Affairs Committee meeting held in June 22, 2011, the results of the consultations with various stakeholders were presented and it appeared that the conflict between the LGU and the applicant IPs with respect to the management of Talakaigan Catchment was not resolved, hence, three options were suggested, as follows: (1) Declaration as watershed area to be managed by IPs as part of their ADSDPP; (2) Declaration by LGU as critical watershed under the management of the LGU as the watershed is their source of water; and (3) Declaration by the PCSD as special management area under SEP Law to be under a special management structure with the participation from all stakeholders;

WHEREAS, upon presentation to the Council of the aforesaid options, the Council adopted the third option to exclude Talakaigan Catchment and for the Council to declare the same as special management area under the SEP;

WHEREFORE, upon motion duly seconded, the Council resolves, as it is hereby RESOLVED, recommending the exclusion of Talakaigan Catchment from the coverage of the pending application of Cabigaan CADT and recommending further that the same be declared by the PCSD as a special management area pursuant to the SEP law under a special management structure with the participation of the concerned stakeholders;

RESOLVED FINALLY, that copy of this Resolution be sent to the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP), LGU of Aborlan and the applicant Tagbanua tribes for their information and guidance.

I hereby certify that the above-quoted Resolution has been duly approved and adopted by the PCSD on the 24^th day of June 2011 at Puerto Princesa City.

ROMEO B. DORADO Secretary

APPROVED FOR THE COUNCIL: ABRAHAM KAHLIL B. MITRA Chairman

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