Profits over indigenous people? Human rights advocates warn vs new FPIC process

Résumé détaillé

Human rights lawyer Raymond Baguilat says the revised guidelines risk simplifying the process to facilitate business faster 'rather than ensuring that indigenous peoples’ rights are fully respected'

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The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) updated the previous 2012 guidelines last September.

Among the criticisms is the stricter time frame for community assemblies. The revised guidelines require the assembly to be completed within 10 days for large-scale projects with potential irreversible impacts and within five days for projects with more limited impacts.

This categorization of projects is another source of criticism as it appears to “undervalue” impacts on people and land. Proposed projects have been categorized based on the degree of impact they are expected to inflict on the land. The approval process varies with each category.

According to human rights lawyer Raymond Baguilat, the revised guidelines risk simplifying the process to facilitate business faster “rather than ensuring that indigenous peoples’ rights are fully respected.”

“At its core, FPIC is a safeguard of indigenous peoples’ collective rights, particularly their right to self-determination, self-governance, and ownership of their ancestral domains and resources,” said Baguilat in his statement that was read during a House hearing on Tuesday, November 10.

Baguilat is the head legal officer of the Institute of Human Rights, which has been examining laws that affect indigenous people. The institute conducted consultations that involved more than 160 indigenous cultural communities.

“Ultimately, the most important question that must be settled is whether the guidelines truly serve indigenous peoples and protect their rights, rather than make those rights subordinate to the convenience of project proponents or the demands of investment,” said Baguilat.

NCIP Chairperson Nancy Catamco expressed her gratitude to civil society and watchdogs “for their observations and recommendations” regarding the revised guidelines.

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