BAGUIO CITY – The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Cordillera has warned the municipal council of Sadanga, Mountain Province that charges would be filed against it for barring the Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR).

“Please be warned that your failure to allow the assumption of the duly selected IPMR of the IP/ICC (Indigenous Peoples/Indigenous Cultural Communities) of Sadanga to the Sangguniang Bayan of your municipality […] will constrain the office to file the necessary administrative, civil and criminal charges against you in order to uphold and protect the rights and interest of the indigenous peoples,” said the NCIP in a notice issued Friday.

The warning came as Sadanga municipal councilors have passed a resolution disallowing IPMR Jimmy K. Galingan from assuming his post on grounds that the IPMR is not applicable to their municipality as they are already IP.

However, the NCIP argued that even if the population and elected officials of Sadanga are 100 percent IP, they are still entitled to a mandatory representation in the Sangguniang Bayan.

“Since the IPRA (Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act) and its IRR (implementing rules and regulations) mandated the ICC/IP mandatory representation, it is therefore our considered view that LGU (local government unit) must strictly comply with law” the NCIP notice’s read.

NCIP-CAR also cited in their notice to the council that the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) Memorandum Circular No. 2010-199 directs all provincial governors, city mayors, municipal mayors, punong barangays, DILG regional directors, the governor of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao and other concerned officials to observe the mandate of Republic Act No. 8371 or IPRA, specifically the mandatory representation of ICC/IP in local councils in accordance with the National Guidelines for the Mandatory Representation of the Indigenous Peoples in Local Legislative Council.