DEAR Mr. President:
Despite many efforts of previous administrations to improve the quality of life of our Indigenous Tribal Peoples (ITPs), most of them are still living in poverty, and they do not have access to healthcare, education and many other public services.
Seeing that you have appointed a new management team at the National Council for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), there is optimism that under your term, there will be a better life for our tribal brothers and sisters.
After many years of looking for ways and means of helping these ITPs, I have concluded that the most strategic way of helping them is to provide them with livelihood assistance. I say that it is strategic, because through livelihood assistance, they can generate income to pay for most of their needs, including of course food, clothing and shelter.
There is no question in my mind Sir, that all government agencies are willing to take your lead in helping the ITP sector. However, I have observed that it is not the willingness to take action that is missing.
What is missing or lacking I think is the coordination between these National Government Agencies (NGAs) on one hand, and between the NGAs and the Local Government Units (LGUs) where the ITPs are present.
Of course, Sir, I understand that the NCIP is there to take the lead, but it may not have enough “clout” to deal on an equal basis with the other NGAs, possibly because it is not a cabinet level agency. Aside from that, I have heard some reports that there are some mayors that are ignoring the representations of some local NCIP officials, thinking perhaps that they have “higher” authority than these “lowly” officials.
One manifestation of this is when mayors or governors would not honor the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) into the municipal councils and provincial boards.
Mr. President, I have also heard some reports that some mayors and governors are refusing to honor the validity of the Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs) that have already been awarded to these ITPs. May I ask what can be done about this Sir?
It would seem that our tribal brothers and sisters could not do anything to assert their rights, especially if they are threatened by private armies in some places. Perhaps you can task the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to help them? Or the Philippine National Police (PNP)?
Going back to my basic premise about livelihood, I have observed that there are many NGAs that could help the ITPs, among them the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for product development, Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) for product packaging, Department of Agriculture (DA) for agribusiness, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for forestry projects.
Among other options, agribusiness stands out as the best choice that would match their existing skills. Since many of the CADTs have large tracks of land to make use of, it would be good for them to go into tree farming. That is not only good for them but also good for the planet, and they could even earn carbon credits for that.
They could also go into poultry and livestock, and even fisheries when there are bodies of water nearby. I know for a fact Mr. President, that there are many non-government organizations (NGOs) and state colleges and universities (SCUs) that are willing to help them. There are also many individuals who are willing to help./PN
