ANCESTRAL DOMAIN. President Rodrigo R. Duterte (2nd from right) hands over to Datu Randy Catarman (right) a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title for his tribe covering the areas of Jabonga and Nasipit in Agusan del Norte on Tuesday (April 12, 2022) in Butuan City. The President visited Butuan to meet with the members of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and the proclamation rally of the PDP-LABAN in Buenavista, Agusan del Norte. (Photo courtesy of PIA-Caraga)
BUTUAN CITY – President Rodrigo R. Duterte led Tuesday the awarding of six Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs) to various Indigenous Peoples (IP) communities in the Caraga Region.
Duterte handed out the titles to tribal leaders representing the six CADTs with a total land area of 209,170 hectares, covering portions of Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, and Surigao del Norte.
Datu Randy Catarman, tribal leader of a tribal domain in the Agusan del Norte towns of Jabonga and Kicharao, thanked Duterte for his concern for the tribal communities in the region.
“It is important that nowadays, we, the IPs, have legal recognition of our ancestral domain. And we are grateful to the Duterte administration for the approval and release of our title,” Catarman said in an interview.
Catarman said they started applying for a tribal domain title for an area comprising five IP communities in Jabonga, Kitcharao, and Mainit towns as early as 2006.
"I am thankful to the President for finally awarding our CADT,” he said, adding their tribal domain is inhabited by more than 2,000 members.
He also recognized the support of the personnel of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples in Agusan del Norte and Caraga in processing their claim.
In a statement, NCIP-13 said 12 CADTs were formally approved and recognized in Caraga inside the term of President Duterte.
A CADT, as defined under Republic Act 8371, or the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA), is a land title formally recognizing the rights of possession and ownership of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) over their Ancestral Domains.
The IPRA law describes the CADTs as the backbones of the IP communities in the country. (PNA)
