The Philippine Environmental Policy, enacted as Presidential Decree 1151 on June 6, 1977, has the intended purpose of keeping the environment protected despite (or because of) what has been regarded in the law as conflicting demands of population growth, urbanization, industrial expansion, rapid natural resources utilization, and increasing technological advances (Republic of the Philippines 1977a). The decree provides a non-negotiable requirement to be complied with in any endeavor to introduce development initiatives within a considered fragile natural topography. The enactment calls on the government to lead society in promoting and implementing this national environment policy in pursuit, among others, of the preservation of important historical and cultural aspects of the Philippine heritage (ibid.). This provision acknowledges that nature and the environment are not vacant spaces, but rather peopled by communities of indigenous peoples with distinct and specific cultural practices, as well as knowledge systems that include environmental protection and preservation. This is the standpoint of a 2015 joint documentation project undertaken by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the indigenous cultural communities and indigenous peoples' organizations of Barangays Karao and Ekip in Bokod, Benguet of what is termed as Sustainable Indigenous Forest Resources Management Systems and Practices (STIFRMSP). These are locally known as chontog. But while the Philippine Environmental Policy conjunction with the enactment of the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (IPRA) in 1997acknowledges that historical and cultural practices are important in relation to environmental protection initiatives, how much of these traditions are still practiced on the ground? To what extent do the locals value traditional methods of sustaining natural resources within their jurisdictions, and how committed are they at preserving and perpetuating these indigenous institutions?