The Indigenous World 2026: Philippines
Based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (CPH) report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), there are 9,841,785 Indigenous people in the Philippines.[1] Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines are unevenly distributed across the country: 34% are in Luzon, 3% in the Visayas, and 63% in Mindanao. The largest concentration is in Mindanao, where the Lumad comprise a majority of the Indigenous population. In Northern Luzon, Indigenous communities in the Cordillera mountain range are collectively referred to as the Igorot. Smaller Indigenous groups include the Mangyan of Mindoro. the Ayta and Dumagat of Southern Tagalog and the Tumandok and Ati in the Panay Islands.
Indigenous Peoples’ ancestral domains are central to the country’s remaining forests and biodiversity. While Indigenous Peoples’ ancestral domains cover 44% of the country’s land area, an estimated 75% of the remaining forest cover is found within ancestral domains, highlighting the crucial role of Indigenous stewardship in forest protection.[2]
The Republic Act 8371, or the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA), was enacted in 1997 and has often been lauded for affirming Indigenous Peoples’ rights to cultural integrity, ancestral lands, and self-determined development. In practice, however, the law has proven deeply contradictory. Rather than safeguarding these rights, IPRA has frequently been used to facilitate their violation. This gap between promise and reality has led many Indigenous organizations to call for a thorough review of the law, and even its scrapping. While the Philippines voted in favor of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and enacted the 1997 IPRA, the situation of Indigenous Peoples remains marked more by violations than by recognition and respect. The government has yet to ratify ILO Convention 169, highlighting its continued refusal to commit to enforceable international standards on Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
This article is part of the 40th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. Find The Indigenous World 2026 in full here
I. Corruption and fascism; corruption in fascism
The year 2025 marked a moment when the deep-rooted corruption of the Philippine government was laid bare before the public. Central to the exposés and investigations were massive anomalies in flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Flood control projects existed only on paper, were left unfinished, or were built to substandard quality despite PHP 254.29 billion (approx. EUR 3.6 billion) allocated to DPWH’s flood management program.[3] Investigations revealed entrenched kickback systems, with officials and legislators earning large commissions in exchange for reserving projects for favored contractors.[4]
President Marcos Jr. allows this system of corruption to operate as he himself benefits from it. As President, he reviews and approves the National Expenditure Program, including the staggering PHP 1.055 trillion (approx. EUR 15.3 billion) allocated to the DPWH in 2025.[5] His corruption is now the subject of impeachment complaints for Betrayal of Public Trust. These complaints strongly indicate that Marcos Jr. deliberately institutionalized a systematic mechanism to siphon more than PHP 545.6 billion (approx. EUR 7.9 billion) in flood control funds, channeling public money to favored contractors, cronies and, ultimately, to himself.
As always, the worst impacts are borne by the most marginalized and vulnerable sectors, none more so than Indigenous Peoples. Many Indigenous communities live in mountainous, upland, or coastal areas that are heavily affected by environmental degradation.[6] Indigenous Peoples are not spared the devastating impacts of corruption. Long-overdue infrastructure such as roads and bridges is deliberately withheld from Indigenous communities, while corrupt officials and their networks siphon off funds for schools and hospitals. So-called “development projects” are often used to divide communities, corrupt Indigenous leaders, and force consent for destructive projects on ancestral lands.
The consequences of this corruption were felt sharply in 2025, especially when a series of strong typhoons—Crising, Dante, and Emong—battered large parts of the country. Flooding, landslides, and prolonged displacement exposed the deadly cost of corruption and mismanaged development.
While essential sectors suffered significant budget cuts—education lost PHP 11.6 billion (approx. EUR 168.9 million), health services were reduced by PHP 25.8 billion (approx. EUR 375.6 million), and social welfare faced a steep cut of PHP 95.9 billion (approx. EUR 1.4 billion)[7] —larger portions of public funds were channeled toward militarization and fascist programs. Marcos Jr. approved a PHP 265.10 billion (approx. EUR 3.8 billion) budget for the Department of National Defense (DND), with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) alone receiving PHP 75 billion (approx. EUR 1 billion). These resources fueled aerial bombings, ground operations, and militarization of Indigenous communities facing corporate encroachment, violating human rights and international humanitarian law.[8]
Social services were repurposed to enforce a counterinsurgency operation. The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), an agency implicated in numerous violations of Indigenous rights defenders and the subject of UN Special Rapporteurs’ calls for abolition,[9] used the Barangay Development Program (BDP) to pressure villages and communities to declare themselves “cleared” of insurgency in exchange for PHP 20 million (approx. EUR 291,000).[10] Regions that received the largest funds for BDP were often those with the highest rates of killings and political arrests,[11] with many of the so-called “cleared” barangays being largely Indigenous communities. Core BDP projects, such as the farm-to-market roads (FMRs), were used to pacify communities rather than improve livelihoods, and even these projects were often unfinished and overpriced.[12],[13]
This counterproductive logic was institutionalized through the National Action Plan for Unity, Peace, and Development (NAP-UPD), which Marcos Jr. adopted in May 2025. Modeled on Duterte’s Whole-of-Nation Approach, the NAP-UPD embeds counterinsurgency objectives into social services, infrastructure delivery, and governance. It mobilizes the civilian bureaucracy, civil society, and local leaders to suppress dissent[14] while facilitating corporate entry into Indigenous lands. Marketed as a peace-building program, the NAP-UPD is fundamentally militaristic and ignores the structural roots of armed conflict: landlessness, joblessness, and repression.[15]
II. Plunder and rights violations
Beyond budgetary theft and corruption, plunder manifests in the destructive projects that encroach on ancestral domains. Large-scale mining, destructive dams, renewable energy projects, ecotourism ventures, and plantations continue to expand across Indigenous territories under the guise of progress and national development. For Indigenous Peoples, these projects translate into land grabbing, environmental destruction, forced displacement, and disintegration of Indigenous ways of life.
Central to this plunder is the systematic violation of Indigenous Peoples’ right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), an agency mandated to promote the rights of Indigenous Peoples, has a long history of facilitating the entry of destructive projects through coerced consultations, fabricated or manipulated consent, and the recognition of handpicked community representatives and fake tribal leaders.[16]
In 2025, complaints from Indigenous Peoples over violations of FPIC and the right to information intensified across several regions. In Benguet, Indigenous Peoples from Mankayan and Itogon raised objections against Crescent Mining and Itogon-Suyoc Resources Inc., citing sham FPIC processes, coerced signatures, and the reuse of outdated consent to justify expanded operations.[17] [18] The residents of Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya, opposed Woggle Corporation for conducting consultations without full disclosure or genuine community participation.[19] The Ayta of Mt. Pinatubo barricaded the entrance to a tourist site in response to unfair compensation from tourism agencies, highlighting that tourism in their ancestral land continues to operate without genuine FPIC.[20]
Grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law go hand in hand with plunder projects as military forces are deployed to protect corporate interests. In the Cordillera, women leaders like Betty Belen and Elma Awingan-Tuazon were targeted for opposing destructive projects such as the Saltan Dams and Makilala Mining. The leaders of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance remain arbitrarily designated as “terrorists” in an attempt to delegitimize their resistance. In Mindoro, Mangyan communities resisting land grabs from Pieceland Corporation and facing the threat of destructive wind farms and oil extraction endured harassment, restricted access to food and essentials, and two aerial bombardments by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in 2025 alone.[21]
Similar patterns have emerged nationwide. Tumandok families in Panay were displaced as the Jalaur Mega-Dam occupied hundreds of hectares of their ancestral land. At the same time, Indigenous farmers in Negros were surveilled and intimidated by the military-backed Hacienda Asia Plantation Inc., operating without FPIC. In Palawan, the Molbog Indigenous Peoples faced criminalization as court summonses threatened nearly 300 residents defending their land against a San Miguel Corporation “ecotourism” project.[22] In South Cotabato, the expansion of Tampakan mine continued to endanger B’laan territories, with state-backed enforcement silencing opposition.
The NCIP has shown no concern over these incidents. This is unsurprising given that it also benefits from the very system that enables them. The NCIP itself holds a long record of corruption. Over the years, the Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the NCIP for excessive spending, undocumented expenses, and misuse of funds—including millions spent on luxury events, anti-insurgency workshops,[23] and a controversial PHP 7 million (approx. EUR 101,900) coffee table book funded through donations from mining companies.[24] In a landmark 2025 ruling, the Supreme Court confirmed that NCIP officials had misappropriated funds intended for the Mamanwa Tribes of Surigao del Norte, diverting royalties for their own operational expenses.[25] It underscored what Indigenous groups had long asserted: the agency meant to protect them had become an instrument of exploitation and oppression.
And yet, despite the harsh and relentless suffering Indigenous Peoples endured in 2025, the year was also marked by the strength of mass movements resisting corporate plunder. The relentless exploitation of ancestral lands by projects has pushed Indigenous Peoples to defend their territories, confirming that mass struggles and revolutionary movements in the Philippines are not born out of whim but out of centuries of historical injustice and systemic inequality.
In 2025, these same conditions drove other sectors of society to rise up, as injustice was further intensified by state corruption, fascism, and the regime’s puppetry to foreign interests.
II. Indigenous women and youth against corruption, fascism, and impunity
When the massive theft of public funds was exposed, it sparked widespread protests across the country, with Indigenous Peoples actively participating. On 21 September 2025, tens of thousands marched in Metro Manila alone, over 5,000 in Baguio City, and thousands more in Cebu City, Davao City, and other major cities. The protests continued until the end of the year, with the youth actively participating and taking a leading role, echoing movements in other parts of the world.
Movements to oust Marcos Jr. and Vice-President Sara Duterte were spearheaded by progressive forces, with Indigenous Peoples playing an active role. Many Filipinos had grown weary of the regime’s sham accountability, as bogus investigations spared the most corrupt and fascist officials from any real due process.[26]
Indigenous youth suffer most under this failed system. They are denied access to education, decent work, land, and a livable future. They are also the targets of state violence, as seen in the killing of Elioterio Ugking, a 25-year-old Manobo farmer, in June 2025.[27] Poverty and militarization force many to migrate to cities only to face the same harsh economic conditions that plague urban life.
The same is true for Indigenous women, who are often the direct victims of state fascism in their struggle for land and life. Compounded by gender-based violence, constant intimidation, and criminalization, they have suffered a severe toll on their physical safety, health, and ability to lead within their communities.
It is for these reasons that in 2026 and the years ahead, the active participation and leadership of Indigenous youth and women will continue to rise. From communities under siege to schools, workplaces, and the streets, they are asserting their right to land, life, and a future free from fear and exploitation. The conditions are ripe for Indigenous Peoples to organize, resist, and advance their collective struggles grounded in dignity and self-determination.
As the Filipino people push back against the oppressive NAP-UPD and the culture of impunity it protects, Indigenous youth and women will stand at the forefront with other Indigenous Peoples —linking arms with other marginalized sectors and movements nationwide. In defending their ancestral lands and communities, they are also defending the future of all oppressed peoples in the Philippines. Through unity, courage, and sustained struggle, genuine systemic change is not only necessary—it is within reach.
Funa-ay Claver, a young Igorot woman activist from Mountain Province, Cordillera, Philippines, is the national coordinator of Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (Katribu), a national alliance of Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and communities. This article reflects Katribu’s collective position.
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This article is part of the 40th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. Find The Indigenous World 2026 in full here
Notes and references
[1] Jomilynn Rabanal, "Status of Indigenous Peoples Data in National Statistics: Censuses, Survey, and Administrative Data." World Bank Planning Meeting for the IP Data Workshop, 27-28 January 2025, https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/c370ba5b59a471a774b2196ca87bd623-0090012025/original/Day-1-PSA-Jomilynn-Rebanal.pdf
[2] ICCA Consortium, "Territories of Life: 2021 Report," 2021, https://report.territoriesoflife.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ICCA-Territories-of-Life-2021-Report-FULL-150dpi-ENG.pdf
[3] “Billions down the drain,” Inquirer.net, 24 July 2025, https://opinion.inquirer.net/184876/billions-down-the-drain
[4] Lian Buan, “Mark Villar, Bonoan, Cabral operated kickback system in DPWH – witness,” Rappler, 14 November 2025, https://www.rappler.com/philippines/mark-villar-bonoan-cabral-operated-dpwh-kickback-system-witness-bernardo/
[5] Luisa Cabato, “DepEd, DPWH get highest 2025 budget allocation,” Inquirer.net, 30 December 30 2024, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2019897/fwd-top-10-sectors-with-highest-budget-alloc#:~:text=By:%20Luisa%20Cabato%20%2D%20Reporter%20/,Judiciary%20%E2%80%93%20P64%20billion
[6] Minority Rights Groups, “Indigenous peoples in the Philippines,” https://minorityrights.org/communities/indigenous-peoples-5/#:~:text=A%20common%20geographical%20distinction%20is,province%20all%20practise%20shifting%20cultivation
[7] Sonny Africa, “2025 BBM: Budget Badly Made,” Ibon Foundation, 17 December 2024, https://www.ibon.org/2025-budget-badly-made/
[8] Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas, “Indigenous, Moro Peoples mark Human Rights Day; denounce plunder, intensified militarization of communities,” 8 December 2025, https://www.katribu.net/post/indigenous-moro-peoples-mark-human-rights-day-denounce-plunder-intensified-militarization-of-comm
[9] Gabriel Pabico Lalu, “Abolish the outdated NTF-Elcac – UN Special Rapporteur Khan,” Inquirer.net, 2 February 2024, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1898263/un-special-rapporteur-khan-recommends-abolition-of-ntf-elcac
[10] Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, “Farmers reject Marcos Jr’s 2026 budget for corruption and fascism,” Facebook, 5 January 2026, https://www.facebook.com/kilusangmagbubukid/photos/farmers-reject-marcos-jrs-2026-budget-for-corruption-and-fascism-the-kilusang-ma/912280124463850/
[11] KARAPATAN, “HRVs rise in regions with most dev’t fund from DILG, NTF-ELCAC,” 7 November 2021, https://www.karapatan.org/media_release/hrvs-rise-in-regions-with-most-devt-fund-from-dilg-ntf-elcac/
[12] KARAPATAN, “KARAPATAN: Probe NTF-ELCAC’s BDP, E-CLIP funds,” 2 October 2025, https://www.karapatan.org/media_release/karapatan-probe-ntf-elcacs-bdp-e-clip-funds/
[13] Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, “Overpriced roads exposed, Farm-to-Pocket Roads: Billions lost to corruption in DA-DPWH projects,” Facebook, 8 October 2025, https://www.facebook.com/kilusangmagbubukid/posts/overpriced-roads-exposedfarm-to-pocket-roads-billions-lost-to-corruption-in-da-d/842807501411113/
[14] Esperanza Dela Paz, “How Duterte’s ‘whole-of-nation approach’ will prolong insurgency, not end it,” Pinoy Weekly, 9 September 2019, https://pinoyweekly.org/2019/09/whole-of-nation-approach-insurgency/#:~:text=FEATURED%20Komentaryo-,How%20Duterte's%20'whole%2Dof%2Dnation%20approach'%20will,prolong%20insurgency%2C%20not%20end%20it&text=What%20we%20have%20seen%20has,or%20the%20%E2%80%9Ccommunist%20insurgency%E2%80%9D
[15] National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, “On the National Action Plan for Unity, Peace and Development (NAP-UPD): doubling down on a failed policy of repression,” 10 May 2025, https://nupl.net/on-the-national-action-plan-for-unity-peace-and-development-nap-upd-doubling-down-on-a-failed-policy-of-repression/
[16] Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas, “Repeal IPRA, Abolish NCIP for facilitation of unwanted mining in Indigenous Communities,” 29 October 2025, https://www.katribu.net/post/repeal-ipra-abolish-ncip-for-facilitation-of-unwanted-mining-in-indigenous-communities
[17] Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, “Indigenous Peoples human rights defenders stand in solidarity with mining-affected communities in Benguet, Philippines, call for genuine FPIC,” 3 September 2025, https://aippnet.org/indigenous-peoples-human-rights-defenders-stand-solidarity-mining-affected-communities-benguet-philippines-call-genuine-fpic/
[18] Cordillera Peoples Alliance, “No to APSA 103! Defend Dalicno, Itogon from Corporate Greed and Plunder! Stop APEX-ISRI Mining Expansion!” 14 February 2024, https://www.facebook.com/cpaphils/posts/no-to-apsa-103defend-dalicno-itogon-from-corporate-greed-and-plunder-stop-apex-i/788120333360317/
[19] Danilova Molintas, “As Nueva Vizcaya town fights exploration, lawyers raise government accountability,” Northern Dispatch, 23 September 2025, https://nordis.net/2025/09/23/article/feature/as-nueva-vizcaya-town-continues-fight-against-exploration-experts-raise-legal-accountability/
[20] Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas, “Stand with the Ayta People! Stand with the Mt. Pinatubo Barricade!” Facebook, 22 April 2025, https://www.facebook.com/katribuphils/posts/stand-with-the-ayta-people-stand-with-the-mt-pinatubo-barricadethe-ayta-indigeno/1081143887386633/
[21] KARAPATAN, “KARAPATAN sounds alarm on bombings, strafing in Mindoro communities,” 3 March 2025, https://www.karapatan.org/media_release/karapatan-sounds-alarm-on-bombings-strafing-in-mindoro-communities/
[22] Dominic Gutoman, "Close to 300 Palawan residents accused of squatting on their ancestral lands," Bulatlat, 9 December 2025, https://www.bulatlat.com/2025/12/09/close-to-300-palawan-residents-accused-of-squatting-on-their-ancestral-lands/
[23] Elizabeth Marcelo, “NCIP flagged over lavish meals, hotel accommodations,” The Philippine Star, 5 November 2020, https://www.philstar.com/nation/2020/11/05/2054645/ncip-flagged-over-lavish-meals-hotel-accommodations
[24] Kimberlie Quitasol, “Lawmaker, IP groups want NCIP chief out,” Northern Dispatch, 29 September 2022, https://nordis.net/2022/09/29/article/news/lawmaker-ip-groups-want-ncip-chief-out/
[25] Supreme Court of the Philippines, “SC: Mamanwa Tribes Trust Fund Held by NCIP Cannot Be Diverted; Must Be Used Only for Their Intended Purpose,” Press Release, 3 November 2025, https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/SC-PRESS-RELEASE-SC-Mamanwa-Tribes-Trust-Fund-Held-by-NCIP-Cannot-Be-Diverted-Must-Be-Used-Only-for-Their-Intended-Purpose.pdf
[26] Raymund Villanueva, “ICI was created to protect BBM – BAYAN,” Kodado Productions, 19 January 2026, https://kodao.org/ici-was-created-to-protect-bbm-bayan/
[27] Franck Dick Rosete, “Family of slain Lumad farmer in Surigao del Sur calls for justice,” Bulatlat, 30 June 2025, https://www.bulatlat.com/2025/06/30/family-of-slain-lumad-farmer-in-surigao-del-sur-calls-for-justice/
Tags: Global governance
