Will AI take over Kalinga music? Balbalan seeks ordinance to safeguard indigenous music, culture from AI use

TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The Municipality of Balbalan is seeking a provincial ordinance that would establish safeguards on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in remixing, reproducing, and adapting traditional Kalinga melodies and locally created songs.

The proposed measure aims to protect the intellectual property rights of local artists and the cultural rights of Indigenous communities whose traditional musical works may be used or modified through AI.

The matter was taken up during the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Kalinga on September 22 at the Legislative Building in Bulanao, Tabuk City.

The Balbalan resolution asks the provincial board, through the Office of Provincial Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) Michael Karel Sugguiyao, to establish guidelines governing the use of AI in modifying, reproducing, or adapting Kalinga musical works.

It seeks to ensure that traditional melodies and locally created songs are not reproduced, altered, or remixed through AI without due consideration of the rights of their creators and the cultural rights of the Indigenous communities associated with the works.

The provincial board referred the resolution to the appropriate committee for review and appropriate action.

The committee is expected to examine the proposed measure and identify provisions that could regulate AI use involving traditional Kalinga melodies and locally created songs, including safeguards for artists and Indigenous communities.

The proposed ordinance comes amid the growing use of AI in creative work, raising issues concerning authorship, originality, ownership, and the use of existing creative works.

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has also been developing policies and guidance concerning AI-generated and AI-assisted works, including the role of human creative contribution in determining copyright protection.

Proposed AI policy also covers Indigenous knowledge

The Balbalan measure adds to an earlier proposed provincial ordinance on the use of AI in preserving and managing Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSP), authored by IPMR Sugguiyao.

In August, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Rules and Ethics, chaired by Board Member Atty. Christopher Donaal, conducted a committee hearing at Kalinga State University on the proposed ordinance establishing the Kalinga Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices Artificial Intelligence Database Platform, or “Arang.”

The proposed Arang ordinance seeks to establish a community-governed digital repository for preserving, protecting, and managing Indigenous knowledge in AI and other digital environments.

Among its proposed provisions are requirements for Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), the creation of an oversight committee, and regulations for digital platforms that collect, process, or use Indigenous knowledge.

Kalinga State University (KSU), the New York University Peace Research Education Program, and the Kalinga Bodong Council of Elders are among the collaborators of the Office of IPMR Sugguiyao in developing the proposed measure.