Who profits from custom?: Jural constraints on land accumulation and social stratification in Benguet Province, Northern Philippines

In: Journal of Southeast Asian studies, Band 21, Heft 2, S. 329-339

Abstract

The paper uses diachronic data from one upland community in the northern Philippines to illustrate how individuals have manoeuvred within and utilized the conflicts between the provisions of customary law and national legal codes in order to pursue certain economic strategies. The creative process of inventing custom is demonstrated. The paper suggests that there are no clear winners in these strategies; elite prerogatives have been eroded in favour of poorer families and the community as a whole has suffered from increased factionalism. (DÜI-Sen)