BAYAWAN CITY, Negros Oriental, Sept. 30 (PIA) -- Government agencies in Negros Oriental have joined together in advancing the welfare of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in the province.

Representatives of government line agencies here signed a Peace Covenant and Memorandum of Cooperation during the two-day workshop conducted by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) here on Sept. 12-13.

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Provincial Head Engr. Ariel Fortuito said PSA will come up with a program to facilitate the registration of key life events for the IPs for their inclusion of IP members in PhilSys.

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Officer Dr. Pepito Piral said they will offer scholarships to IP members and provide skills training in entrepreneurship and organized farming to ensure food security.

He said the training programs will enable them to achieve sustainable development while preserving their culture at the same time.

Department of Education Bayawan City Education Program Supervisor Napoleon Sanoy also committed to implement IP Education and ensure that learners will know about IP culture in the province by integrating it in lessons and in the curriculum.

Department of the Interior and Local Government Officer Roland Gonzales also expressed his agency’s support for the creation of the Indigenous People’s Mandatory Representations (IPMR) in local legislative councils so that IPs will have a voice in the law-making body of Local Government Units (LGUs).

The Philippine Army, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and the National Bureau of Investigation also committed to uphold peace, security, and protection of the IPs.

The signing of the memorandum of cooperation is one of the outputs of the NCIP workshop.

Government stakeholders and IP leaders also came up with actionable items to be undertaken in each ancestral domain of IPs.

The two-day workshop, dubbed “Healing, Reconciliation, and Operationalizing the 11 Building Blocks in Ancestral Domain,” is part of NCIP’s strategy to level the understanding of the government, private, and IP sector on the 11 Building Blocks of Ancestral Domain to make IPs and responsive for national development.

The first day was allocated for the orientation of the 11 Building Blocks which is a tool to make IP communities more resilient.

The 11 Building Blocks, as laid out in the IPRA Law, are: Confirmation of Indigenous Political Structure (IPS), Registration and accreditation of Indigenous Peoples Organizations, Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) and Certificate of Ancestral Land Title (CALT) delineation process,  Establishment of Ancestral Domain Management Office (ADMO), Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP) formulation, IP Wealth Management-Community Resource Management Development Plan (CRMDP) Formulation,  Institutionalization of Certificate of Precondition (CP), Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and Exercise of Priority Rights (EPR),  Effective Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) in the local legislative bodies, Efficient and enhanced MOA/MOU/MOC formulation, Socio-economic activities with IP cooperatives and Ancestral Domain Defense System. 

NCIP Commissioner Jeorge Lagardo said the activity provides a platform to the IP community to express their concerns.

“Sa ngayon pwede ma-address ang lahat ng mga issue and concern kung ano ang mga burning issues within the IP community sa Negros Oriental. Ito ang venue (This is the venue to discuss and address burning the IP community in Negros Oriental),” Lagardo said.  

Issues on Communist-Terrorist-Group (CTG) Recruitment among the IPs were also tackled on the first day.

Members of the IP community here were told how CTGs exploit issues concerning them to turn them against the government.