INDIGENOUS peoples in Camiguin are demanding the provincial board to recant their resolution certifying that there are no lumads living in the island province today.
Lumad leaders representing around 15,000 individuals and led by former Ako PaDayon Pilipino Rep. Adriano Ebcas held a press conference April 30 here in Cagayan de Oro City to disclose the issue.
Ebcas claimed they already possess since 1998 a certificate of ancestral domain claim that covers 1,006 hectares spanning the towns of Mambajao and Sagay.
“Dili unta mi hatagan og CADC kung wala nag-exist ang among indigenous cultural communities,” Ebcas said.
By 2018, the indigenous peoples had applied for a certificate of ancestral domain title.
However, NCIP provincial legal officer Jeric Ragsac quickly pointed out that the CADT if granted will cover only a lesser area as they will exclude the lands that already had titles prior to the institutionalization of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act.
Still, the indigenous peoples are worried of their status in the future.
Ebcas said that in 2023, the Camiguin provincial board approved a resolution certifying that there are no lumad inhabitants in the province.
The Camiguin provincial board claimed that the IPs failed to provide testimonies from elders, historical accounts, survey plans, sketch maps, anthropological data and genealogical surveys proving their existence.
Ebcas however said that their possession of the CADC is enough proof of their existence.
