The Court of Appeals (CA) ruled in favor of the members of the Tagbanua tribe over a disputed parcel of land in Barangay Malinao, Narra, Palawan, on August 20, 2025, ordering the return of the land to the indigenous group.
The decision of the CA’s 12th Division upheld the 2022 ruling of the Puerto Princesa City Regional Trial Court (RTC), rendering the Original Certificate of Title (OCT) under the Palawan Registry of Deeds null and void, and ordering the reconveyance of the 118,981-square meter parcel of land to the tribe members.
According to the CA, the Tagbanuas’ rights remain “intact and legally protected, grounded not merely on statutory recognition but on their native title even without a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT)”.
The CA further stated that the tribe’s ownership stands on its own, as they have long possessed and continuously cultivated the land “since time immemorial”.
The case started in 2012 from a complaint filed by Tagbanua members led by Cristeta Batac-Espinosa, predecessors of Manuel Batac and Alberta Pilandoc, both full-blooded indigenous Tagbanuas, who had lived and farmed in Barangay Malinao, Narra, Palawan for decades.
They aimed to nullify the (OCT) claimed by appellant Noel Pronto who had declared ownership of the land in 1995. The complainants claimed that Pronto threatened them with court litigation if they failed to surrender a portion of their harvest. Due to fear and lack of knowledge in legal procedures, the Tagbanua members agreed to Pronto’s demand and remained as tenants.
However, upon verification with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the Tagbanua members discovered that the OCT was issued unlawfully. The RTC later ruled in their favor, nullifying the title.
Pursuant to Republic Act No. 8371, otherwise known as the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA), the CA upholds the lower court’s ruling and said that the Tagbanua complainants have the right to claim their land as recognized indigenous members of Narra.
The court also added that the land, being part of an ancestral domain, was never classified as “alienable and disposable public land”, refuting Pronto’s argument.
A similar victory for the Tagbanua members occurred in 2022, when the Tagbanua tribe of Calauit, Palawan, won jurisdiction over their ancestral land. The Supreme Court (SC) ruling upheld the CA’s decision of dismissing a petition for certiorari filed by the Palawan provincial government and ordered that the indigenous members reclaim their land.
