Section 12Sec./Art. 12

Section 13 of Republic Act No. 7586 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 13. Ancestral Domains and Customary Rights. - ancestral domains and customary rights shall be accorded due recognition.

"As part of heritage preservation and pursuant to the need to conserve biologically significant areas, the territories and areas occupied and conserved for and by IPs and communities shall be recognized, respected, developed, and promoted.

"The ICCs and IPs concerned shall have the responsibility to govern, maintain, develop, protect, and conserve such areas, in accordance with their indigenous knowledge systems and practices and customary law, with full and effective assistance from the NCIP, DENR and other concerned government agencies.

"A mechanism for coordination and complementation between the indigenous traditional leadership and governance structures and the NCIP, DENR, government agencies, concerned LGUs and civil society organizations shall be created."