BAGUIO CITY (PIA) -- The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples in the  Cordillera region  (NCIP-CAR) initiated a project that seeks to set guidelines on the use of Cordillera indigenous cultural attire.
 
NCIP-CAR Technical Management and Services Division Chief Michael Umaming said the project aims to contextualize the Cordillera sensitivity on the misuse of cultural attires, and dispel misinformation or disinformation about Igorots.
 
"One of the trigger  of this project was actually the discussions on attires that went viral sometime last year - the man of the world,  and the woman in bahag. Any misuse in the Cordillera is a sensitive matter as far as Cordillera people  are concerned," Umaming  said  during the recent meeting of the Committee on Indigenous Peoples' Concerns (CIPC).

Umaming said the project  aims  to come up with images or narratives of how the attires  of different Cordillera indigenous peoples (IP) groups are used,  and disseminate this through social media. He said that they had already conducted a workshop on how Cordillera cultural attires are worn. They have also done the demo or picture taking on how they are used,  and the narratives of the photographs. The validation and posting on social media are expected to be completed in June 2024.

It also aims to encourage ancestral domain-level discussions that would come up with policies to  regulate the use of attire, particularly in beauty pageants, pose-for-pay, festivals, and performing groups.

The project team will formulate discussion questions for Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representatives (IPMR), conduct group discussions for the possible passage of resolutions at the municipal or regional levels, and enrich images of narratives on how cultural attires are  worn. The target completion date is December 2024.
 
"We encourage ancestral domain level discussions for policy recommendations particularly on beauty pageants."
 
The project's goal is also to come up with brochures or books on the proper use of attire by the different IP groups. They target to complete this in the first quarter of 2025 once everything  is  finalized and validated.
 
NCIP-CAR Regional Director  Roland Calde said that after the consultations with the IPMRs and local government units (LGUs), they will also seek the assistance of state universities and colleges, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
 
The NCIP plans to engage with LGUs for them to come up with ordinances setting  guidelines on  the use of indigenous attires.  "We want to engage with our local government units to come up with an ordinance limiting or allowing the use of those specific attires  to be used on several occasions," Calde said.
 
The CIPC expressed support for the project, subject to some recommendations and input from the committee members. (JDP/DEG-PIA CAR)