Group vows to watch IP consent process

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — Indigenous peoples’ (IP) rights activists, scholars and local policymakers are pushing back against what they described as the “weakening” of the free and prior informed consent (FPIC) process for tribal communities potentially hosting development projects.

The civil society group FPIC Watch was launched here on Thursday, aiming to monitor and shield ancestral lands and ancestral domains across the country from unjustified public and private sector encroachments.

The activists noted that new FPIC rules were quietly issued on Oct. 6, and have now taken effect. The rules define how consent from indigenous peoples are to be secured by developers, miners and administrators of government projects nestled on ancestral lands.

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Demand for minerals

The 2026 Guidelines on the Free, Prior and Informed Consent Process and Related Process, contained in Administrative Order No. 3 Series of 2026 of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), was approved to comply with a global push for a green energy transition.

Once a developer secures the community’s FPIC, it is awarded a “certificate precondition” by the NCIP which allows the government to release permits and other forms of clearances so its project can proceed.

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“The Philippines is a country that has clear rules governing the free and prior informed consent of indigenous peoples and the recognition of their collective rights over ancestral lands. We are among the nations which have strong laws protecting ancestral rights. But we also know the problems are in enforcing these laws and legal protections,” Joan Carling, executive director of global advocacy group Indigenous Peoples Rights International (Ipri), said in Filipino.

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The global transition to green energy has impacted ancestral lands because of the new demand for rare minerals required to build the technological infrastructure for new energy, she pointed out.

The Philippines, for example, is a top exporter of nickel ore which is in high demand for the production of lithium batteries used in storing clean energy, noted Carling, who formed Ipri with former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Victoria Tauli-Corpuz in 2019.

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“According to the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center, almost half of today’s mining projects can be found in ancestral domains, and may grow … because of the race for critical minerals to power the global energy transition, digital technology, semiconductors, and other strategic industries,” said Beverly Longid, national convener of Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas.

Before these projects land on their doorsteps, IP communities must be prepared with full understanding of their rights and their legal options, and should be exposed to the economic and political landscape that may affect their ancestral domains, Carling said.

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Dwellers and owners of ancestral domains must also rely on a stronger accountability system when their FPIC is violated, she said. Carling proposed the creation of a community FPIC protocol which indigenous clans shall develop and use whenever a project is pitched on their ancestral lands. /cb