CHAPTER VII NATIONAL COMMISSION ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (NCIP)

SEC. 38. National Commission on Indigenous Cultural Communities/lndigenous Peoples
(NCIP). - To carry out the policies herein set forth, there shall be created the National
Commission on ICCs/ IPs (NCIP), which shall be the primary government agency
responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies, plans and programs to
promote and protect the rights and well-being of the ICCs/IPs and the recognition of their
ancestral domains as well as their rights thereto.
SEC. 39. Mandate. - The NCIP shall protect and promote the interest and well-being of the
ICCs/IPs with due regard to their beliefs, customs, traditions and institutions.
SEC. 40. Composition. - The NCIP shall be an independent agency under the Office of the
President and shall be composed of seven (7) Commissioners belonging to ICCs/IPs, one (1)
of whom shall be the Chairperson. The Commissioners shall be appointed by the President of
the Philippines from a list of recommenders submitted by authentic ICCs/ IPs: Provided, That
the seven (7) Commissioners shall be appointed specifically from each of the following
ethnographic areas: Region I and the Cordilleras, Region II, the rest of Luzon, Island Groups
including Mindoro, Palawan, Romblon, Panay and the rest of the Visayas; Northern and

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Western Mindanao; Southern and Eastern Mindanao; and Central Mindanao: Provided, That
at least two (2) of the seven(7) Commissioners shall be women.
SEC. 41. Qualifications, Tenure, Compensation. - The Chairperson and the six (6)
Commissioners must tee natural born Filipino citizens, bonafide members of ICCs/IPs as
certified by his/her tribe, experienced in ethnic affairs and who have worked for at least ten
(10) years with an ICC/IP community and/or any government agency involved in ICC/IP, at
least 35 years of age at the time of appointment, and must be of proven honesty and integrity:
Provided, That at least two (2) of the
seven (7) Commissioners shall be members of the Philippine Bar: Provided, farther, the
members of the NCIP shall hold office for a period of three (3) years, and may be subject to
re-appointment for another term: Provided, furthermore, That no person shall serve for more
than two (2) terms. Appointment to any vacancy shall only be for the unexpired term of the
predecessor and in no case shall a member be appointed or designated in a temporary or
acting capacity: Provided, finally, That the Chairperson and the Commissioners shall be
entitled to compensation m accordance with the Salary Standardization Law.
SEC. 42. Removal from office. - Any member of the NCIP may be removed from office by
the President, on his own initiative or upon recommendation by any indigenous community,
before the expiration of his term for cause and after complying with due process requirement
of law.
SEC. 43. Appointment of Commissioners. - The President shall appoint the seven (7)
Commissioners of the NCIP within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act.
SEC. 44. Powers and Functions. - To accomplish its mandate, the NCIP shall have the
following powers, jurisdiction and function:
a) To serve as the primary government agency through which ICCs/IPs can seek government
assistance and as the medium, through which such assistance may be extended;
b) To review and assess the conditions of ICCs/IPs including existing laws and policies
pertinent thereto and to propose relevant laws and policies to address their role in national
development;
c) To formulate and implement policies, plans, programs and projects for the economic,
social and cultural development of the ICCs/IPs and to monitor the implementation thereof;
d) To request and engage the services and support of experts from other agencies of
government or employ private experts and consultants as may be required in the pursuit of its
objectives;
e) To issue certificate of ancestral land/domain title;
f) Subject to existing laws, to enter into contracts, agreements, or arrangement, with
government or private agencies or entities as may be necessary to attain the objectives of this
Act, and subject to the approval of the President, to obtain loans from government lending
institutions and other lending institutions to finance its programs;

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g)To negotiate for funds and to accept grants, donations, gifts and/or properties in whatever
form and from whatever source, local and international, subject to the approval of the
President of the Philippines, for the benefit of ICCs/IPs and administer the same in
accordance with the terms thereof; or in the absence of any condition, in such manner
consistent with the interest of ICCs/IPs as well as existing laws;
h) To coordinate development programs and projects for the advancement of the ICCs/IPs
and to oversee the proper implementation thereof;
i) To convene periodic conventions or assemblies of IPs to review, assess as well as propose
policies or plans;
j) To advise the President of the Philippines on all matters relating to the ICCs/IPs and to
submit within sixty (60) days after the close of each calendar year, a report of its operations
and achievements;
k) To submit to Congress appropriate legislative proposals intended to carry out the policies
under this Act;
1) To prepare and submit the appropriate budget to the Office of the President;
m)To issue appropriate certification as a pre-condition to the grant of permit, lease, grant, or
any other similar authority for the disposition, utilization, management and appropriation by
any private individual, corporate entity or any government agency, corporation or subdivision
thereof on any part or portion of the ancestral domain taking into consideration the consensus
approval of the ICCs/IPs concerned;
n) To decide all appeals from the decisions and acts of all the various offices within the
Commission;
o) To promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of this Act;
p) To exercise such other powers and functions as may be directed by the President of the
Republic of the Philippines; and
q) To represent the Philippine ICCs/IPs in all international conferences and conventions
dealing with indigenous peoples and other related concerns.
SEC. 45. Accessibility and Transparency. - Subject to such limitations as may be provided by
law or by rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, all official records, documents
and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions, as well as research data used
as basis for policy development of the Commission shall be made accessible to the public.
SEC. 46. Offices within the NCIP. - The NCIP shall have the following offices which shall
be responsible for the implementation of the policies hereinafter provided:
a) Ancestral Domains Office - The Ancestral Domain Office shall be responsible for the
identification, delineation and recognition of ancestral lands/domains. It shall also be
responsible for the management of ancestral lands/domains in accordance with a master plan
as well as the implementation of the ancestral domain rights of the ICCs/IPs as provided in

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Chapter III of this Act. It shall also issue, upon the free and prior informed consent of the
ICCs/IPs concerned, certification prior to the grant of any license, lease or permit for the
exploitation of natural resources affecting the interests of ICCs/IPs or their ancestral domains
and to assist the ICCs/IPs in protecting the territorial integrity of all ancestral domains. It
shall likewise perform such other functions as the Commission may deem appropriate and
necessary;
b) Office on Policy, Planning and Research - The Of lice on Policy, Planning and Research
shall be responsible for the formulation of appropriate policies and programs for ICCs/IPs
such as, but not limited to, the development of a Five-Year Master Plan for the lCCs/IPs.
Such plan shall undergo a process such that every five years, the Commission shall endeavor
to assess the plan and make ramifications in accordance with the changing situations. The
Office shall also undertake the documentation of customary law and shall establish and
maintain a Research Center that would serve as a depository of ethnographic information for
monitoring, evaluation and policy formulation. It shall assist the legislative branch of the
national government in the formulation of appropriate legislation benefiting ICCs/IPs;
c) Office of Education, Culture and Health - The Office on Culture, Education and Health
shall be responsible for the effective implementation of the education, cultural and rented
rights as provided in this Act. It shall assist, promote and support community schools, both
formal and non-formal, for the benefit of the local indigenous community, especially in areas
where existing educational facilities are not accessible to members of the indigenous group. It
shall administer all scholarship programs and other educational rights intended for ICC/IP
beneficiaries in coordination with the Department of Education, Culture and Sports and the
Commission on Higher Education. It shall undertake, within the limits of available
appropriation, a special program which includes language and vocational training, public
health and family assistance program and rented subjects.
It shall also identify ICCs/IPs with potential training in the health profession and encourage
and assist them to enroll in schools of medicine, nursing, physical therapy and other allied
courses pertaining to the health profession.
Towards this end, the NCIP shall deploy a representative in each of the said of offices
personally perform the foregoing task and who shall receive complaints from the ICCs/IPs
and compel action from appropriate agency. It shall also monitor the activities of the National
Museum and other similar government agencies generally intended to manage and presence
historical and archeological artifacts of the ICCs/IPs and shall be responsible for the
implementation of such other functions as the NCIP may deem appropriate and necessary;
d) Office on Socio-Economic Services and Special Concerns. - The Office on
Socio-Economic Services and Special Concerns shall serve as the Office through which the
NCIP shall coordinate with pertinent government agencies specially charged with the
implementation of various basic socio-economic services, policies, plans and programs
affecting the ICCs/IPs to ensure that the same are properly and directly enjoyed by them. It
shall also be responsible for such other functions as the NCIP may deem appropriate and
necessary;
e) Office of Empowerment and Human Rights - The Office of Empowerment and Human
Rights shall ensure that indigenous sociopolitical, cultural and economic rights are respected

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and recognized. It shall ensure that capacity building mechanisms are instituted and ICCs/IPs
are afforded every opportunity, if they so choose, to participate in all levels of
decision-making. It shall likewise ensure that the basic human rights, and such other rights as
the NCIP may determine, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations, are protected and
promoted;
f) Administrative Office - The Administrative Office shall provide the NCIP with
economical, efficient and effective services pertaining to personnel, finance, records,
equipment, security, supplies and related services. It shall also administer the Ancestral
Domains Fund; and
g) Legal Affairs Office- There shall be a Legal Affairs Office which shall advice the NCIP on
all legal matters concerning ICCs/IPs and which shall be responsible for providing ICCs/IPs
with legal assistance in litigation involving community interest. It shall conduct preliminary
investigation on the basis of complaints filed by the ICCs/IPs against a natural or juridical
person believed to have violated ICCs/UPs rights. On the basis of its findings, it shall initiate
the filing of appropriate legal or administrative action to the NCIP.
SEC. 47. Other Offices. - The NCIP shall have the power to create additional of offices it
may deem necessary subject to existing rules and regulations.
SEC. 48. Regional and Field Offices. - Existing regional and field offices shall remain to
function under the strengthened organizational structure of the NCIP. Other field offices shall
be created wherever appropriate and the staffing pattern thereof shall be determined by the
NCIP: Provided, That in provinces where there are ICCs/IPs but without field of offices, the
NCIP shall establish field offices in said provinces.
SEC. 49. (office of the Executive Director. - The NCIP shall create the Office of the
Executive Director which shall serve as its secretariat. The office shall be headed by an
Executive Director who shall be appointed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines
upon recommendation of the NCIP on a permanent basis. The staffing pattern of the office
shall be determined by the NCIP subject to existing rules and regulations.
SEC. 50. Consultative Body. - A body consisting of the traditional leaders, elders and
representatives from the women and youth sectors of the different ICCs/IPs shall be
constituted by the NCIP from time to time to advise it on matters relating to the problems,
aspirations and interests of the ICCs/IPs.