DO WE NEED A MORE TRANSPARENT PROCESS IN DETERMINING THE RECOGNITION OF TRIBAL LEADERS?

 DO WE NEED A MORE TRANSPARENT PROCESS IN DETERMINING THE RECOGNITION OF TRIBAL LEADERS?

The short answer is yes. Transparency is not just desirable—it is essential. When the recognition of tribal leaders becomes unclear, politicized, or influenced by external interests, the very foundation of indigenous self-governance begins to crack.

Under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997, indigenous communities have the inherent right to self-governance and to determine their own leadership according to customary laws and traditions. In fact, the implementing rules clearly state that indigenous communities themselves have the sole right to confer leadership titles, while the government’s role is limited mainly to validation and documentation. This legal principle is simple: the State should recognize leaders chosen by the community, not create leaders for the community.

Yet the reality on the ground is often more complicated. I continue to receive feedback from tribal elders and community members claiming that certain local officials allegedly manipulate validation processes, sometimes resulting in the recognition of “bogus leaders” who do not actually represent the indigenous people. If these allegations are true, the consequences are serious. False recognition does not merely create administrative confusion; it can distort ancestral domain negotiations, Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes, and even the selection of Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representatives (IPMRs) in local councils.

The IPMR system was designed precisely to ensure indigenous participation in governance, and thousands of such representatives now serve in local legislative bodies across the country. However, representation loses meaning if the individuals recognized are not genuinely endorsed by their communities. A representative who owes his or her position to political maneuvering rather than tribal consensus cannot truly speak for the people.

This is why transparency in the recognition process is not a technical issue; it is a governance issue, a cultural issue, and in many cases, an economic issue. Tribal leaders are often the signatories to agreements involving ancestral lands, infrastructure projects, or resource development. If the wrong leaders are recognized, the entire community may end up bound by decisions that were never legitimately approved.

I believe several reforms are worth serious consideration. First, the validation of tribal leadership should always be conducted through open community assemblies where the elders and members themselves confirm the selection. Second, the results of leadership validation should be publicly documented and accessible to the community to prevent backroom substitutions. Third, grievance mechanisms must be strengthened so that communities can immediately challenge questionable recognitions before they produce long-term legal consequences.

Let me be clear: this is not an attack on institutions such as the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), which was created precisely to protect indigenous rights and ancestral domains. Rather, this is a reminder that even well-intentioned systems can develop procedural weaknesses over time. Strengthening transparency is not a criticism—it is a commitment to improvement.

A tribal leader recently told me that some corrupt local intermediaries allegedly try to decide who the “recognized” leaders are, even dismissing authentic elders as unreliable sources of history. Whether isolated or widespread, such practices—if left unchecked—could undermine decades of work aimed at empowering indigenous communities.

The central question therefore remains: Who should determine indigenous leadership—the community itself, or the paperwork that passes through an office? The law already gives us the answer. What we need now is the political will, administrative discipline, and public transparency to ensure that the law is faithfully followed.

RAMON IKE V. SENERES

www.facebook.com/ike.seneres iseneres@yahoo.com senseneres.blogspot.com 09088877282/03-31-2027