A really powerful movement for the Indigenous rights and environmental conservation recently took center stage in New York. During Pace University’s 50th anniversary celebrations, Philippine leaders connected ancestral heritage with international legal and conservation efforts. Consequently, this gathering created a vital connection between local community advocacy and global environmental action.
Empowering Indigenous Women’s Rights in the Philippines
To start, Hon. Limpayen Sibug Las delivered a moving lecture at Pace Law’s Elizabeth Haub School of Law.
She currently serves as President of the Tribal Communities Association of the Philippines (TRICAP). Additionally, she is the former Chairperson of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). During her presentation, titled “Empowering and Promoting Indigenous Women’s Rights in the Philippines.”, she shared key insights on Indigenous leadership.
Notably, this session expanded on remarks she delivered at the United Nations Headquarters in 2024. For Hon. Sibug Las, this mission is deeply personal. Her father, the late Hon. Datu Joseph Sibug, helped draft the landmark Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA). Speaking to scholars and environmental leaders, she brought a quiet reverence to the room when she said,
I believe that my presence here today is a call by my ancestors.”
As a result, her words tied modern legal frameworks directly to ancestral duty. Furthermore, her speech echoed naturalist John Muir’s famous declaration,
The mountains are calling and I must go.”
Taking Mount Busa to the Global Conversation
Beyond the lecture hall, discussions quickly turned toward global conservation efforts. Pace Law Professor Nicholas Robinson facilitated an international dialogue on environmental protection. During this meeting, he invited Philippine delegates to present Mount Busa at the 2027 World Parks Congress in Panama. This major international event occurs only once every decade. Affectionately known as Boi Limpayen, or “The Light,” Hon. Sibug Las will help lead TRICAP in introducing this sacred mountain to world leaders. Indigenous communities surrounding Mount Busa have protected these lands for generations. Currently, local leaders are pushing for stronger legal protections.
Building on initial work by the Sarangani Provincial Government and the Mount Busa Task Force, legislative momentum is growing through House Bill 5093. Ultimately, this bill aims to declare Mount Busa a Protected Landscape. As a result, it will pave the way toward UNESCO World Heritage recognition and status as an Indigenous Community Conserved Area (ICCA). Meanwhile, local support remains strong across Maitum, Kiamba, and Maasim (MAKIMA), alongside the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR Region 12).
Safeguarding the Refuge of the Philippine Eagle
Together, academic institutions, government bodies, and civil society groups are forming a broad alliance. Key partners include Mindanao State University (GenSan), DENR Region 12, the Protected Area Management Office (PAMO-SBPS), the Kiamba Sarangani Development Foundation (KSDFI), and Turtle Stewards International (Canada-Philippines). Emphasizing the urgency of this mission, Carol Villanueva Peralta of KSDFI-TSI highlighted the critical threat to local wildlife:
Mount Busa stands as one of the very last strongholds for the Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi). Right now, the species faces severe threats from habitat destruction, deforestation, and human encroachment. Securing full legal protection for Mount Busa as a Protected Landscape and ICCA is our urgent imperative—so that our national eagle can fly free from danger, poaching, and harm in its true, sacred forest realm.”
Ahead of its advocate, national and international partners led by TRICAP will take center stage at the 2027 World Parks Congress. Through this global showcase, they aim to honor ancestral heritage while protecting Mindanao’s grandest forest sanctuary.
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