The Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC) is a non-partisan research organization established in 1987 by four young law student activists during the People Power Movement against Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorial regime. LRC envisions a society where the rights of Indigenous Peoples and upland rural poor communities are respected, recognized and upheld. LRC works for the recognition and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and upland rural poor communities to land and environment. They seek to bridge the gap between the informal articulation of the aspirations of these marginalized communities on the one hand, and the formal, technical, bureaucratic and legal language used by the state, on the other. To accomplish its goals, LRC maintains the following programs: (1) Research and Policy Development, (2) Direct Legal Services, and (3) Advocacy and Campaigns Support.

LRCs vision centers on the democratic, sustainable, equitable, and culturally appropriate ownership, use, management, and conservation of natural resources. To achieve its visions, LRC’s thematic areas of work encompass environmental justice, economic justice, food sovereignty, and gender justice. LRC’s main tactic is strategic litigation, and they are engaged in various active cases against mining and energy companies operating in ancestral domains across the Philippines.