SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Mark May 27 a “big day” for the country’s more than eight million indigenous peoples.

The day, in fact, deserves a thanksgiving ritual because four of the 29 Certificates of Ancestral Domain Title (CADTs) would be registered with the Registry of Deeds (ROD) by that time, Rolando Rivera, commissioner for Luzon of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, said on Sunday.

“This is a milestone in the campaign to secure the tenure of ethnic tribes over their lands,” said Rivera, son of the late Abelling chieftain, Rodolfo Kulandit Rivera.

The registration perfected the ownership of 5,717 Aeta, Abelling and Dumagat tribe members in Pampanga, Tarlac, Bataan and Aurora over 25,764 hectares of lands and waters.

Rivera said the first four ROD-registered CADT would be awarded on Wednesday. He said President Macapagal-Arroyo would lead the awarding rites for at least two tribes.

CADT RO3-SLU-1205-039 covers 2,789 ha of land and 2,859 ha of waters in Barangay Dibut in San Luis and in portions of Barangays Zabali and Pingit in Baler, both in Aurora.

CADT RO3-HER-0703-008 spans 4,284 ha of lands and 13.7 ha of waters in Sitio Pastolan, Barangay Tipo in Hermosa, Bataan.

CADT RO3-FLO-1206-057 extends over 5,496 ha in Barangays Nabuklod and Mawakat in Floridablanca, Pampanga, and portions of San Marcelino and Subic towns, Zambales.

CADT RO3-BAM-1204-025 consists of 10,323 ha in Barangays San Nicolas, San Vicente, Sto. Niño, Anupul and Calumpang in Bamban, Tarlac, and parts of Barangays Marcos in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

The last two CADTs would benefit tribes who had gone on a mass exodus to the lowlands during Mt. Pinatubo’s 1991 eruptions and have returned to the volcano’s lower flanks to till their lands.

Rivera said the awarding completed 13 steps that saw the NCIP, Land Registration Authority, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Department of Agrarian Reform plotting the areas, doing survey plans, re-projecting, segregating titled properties, and revalidating and issuing certificates on non-overlap.

These processes, as required by the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997, took three to five years to finish, Rivera said.

“Our brother and sister IPs will not expect land conflicts because the private lots within the ancestral domains have been segregated already.

“They can now say the lands are theirs,” he said.

The segregation of titled lots was piloted in Central Luzon, it was learned.

The NCIP will now proceed to help the tribes make their ancestral domain sustainable development plans so they could make their areas more productive. Livelihood, educational and other socio-economic projects will also be started, he said.

The 29 CADTs approved between 2002 and 2004 cover a total of 604,147.5453 ha for 150,099 IPs, according to the NCIP’s website.

At least 71 more ancestral domains, covering 1.4 million ha, are being processed, the NCIP said.