Customary Laws Implemented and Practiced By the Native Tribes of Igorots at the Cordillera Region: An Emerging Guide

Abstract

Customary laws are unofficial laws. It is the long-established customs (standards of the community) of a particular place or locale that the general law is regarded as a lawful practice. The indigenous people (Igorots) have their customary law legalized by the RA. 8371 passed during the Presidency of Corazon Aquino, also known as the Rules and Regulations Implementing The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA) in its Rule IV Section 4 (RIGHT TO SELF-GOVERNANCE AND EMPOWERMENT) Recognition of Socio-Political Institutions and Structure. In their tribes, a police officer must request permission from the chieftain before arresting a member of the tribe. This is just one of the traditional rules of the Igorots that pushed the researchers to conduct this research to help the current and future police to enforce the law despite the customary laws of the Igorots. In the modern age, some Igorots are not aware of their traditions. One of the reasons is the modernization of the residence of their place. The researchers want to determine if the Igorots in the modern ages are still practicing the traditional customary laws. The researchers used the descriptive method mixed with a phenomenological approach. The descriptive method is the design used by the researchers to find information about the present existing conditions. The researcher’s goal is to employ this method to describe the nature of the real situation as it exists at the time of the study. The researcher interviewed the Igorots. Although they are brave warriors against their foes, they have a warm welcome for their visitors. The main instrument used to gather information to answer the specific problem raised is the questionnaire. In this method, written responses were given to prepared questions intended for the respondents to reply. Questions were translated in Tagalog to ensure the validity of the responses, that is, correct interpretation and understanding by the respondents of the specific item in line with the purpose of the study. The study concluded that based on the demographic profile of the two groups of respondents police officers and community at Baguio City, the majority of the respondents came from the age bracket 26-30 years old, female, single and degree holders. In the assessment, the police officers are much knowledgeable about the tribal rules of the Igorots than the community of Baguio City and Igorots consider themselves under their customary laws despite being a foreigner. As assessed, the police officers and the community of Igorots moderately agree about the customary laws of Igorots in terms of property, family, and person among the tribal rules. As attested by the respondents, the recommendations proposed by the researchers to avoid violating the customary laws of Igorots were rated as highly recommended. The findings of the study show the implementation, scope, and limitation of the Igorots’ customary laws that can be used by the police officers to enforce the law to the Igorot tribes such the Igorots will not violate their traditional customary law, open them to the community and restate the modern age Igorot the significance of their traditional customary laws.