Mountain Province enforces proper wearing of cultural attire

In ensuring the respect and value of their rich cultural heritage, Mountain Province legislators enacted an ordinance safeguarding the cultural attires of the "YMontañosas" or the indigenous peoples of the province.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Mountain Province expressed their determination through its ordinance promoting, safeguarding, and regulating the proper wearing and representation of the traditional, cultural attires of the indigenous peoples of Mountain Province. The ordinance also mandates introductory and/or closing explanations in public showcases, requiring due recognition of the owners of such attires.

The local legislation is dubbed "KULTURA -Tako" (Our Culture) which stands for Keeping Up our Lifeways through Traditional Use and Respect of Attires - Together Advocating Knowledge and Ownership of IP attire use.

The main objectives of the ordinance are to promote respect and proper use of traditional attires of the IPs; prevent cultural misappropriation, misrepresentation, and desecration of the attires; recognize and uphold the authority of indigenous communities to enforce their customary laws in relation to cultural attires; and institutionalize education, research, and documentation to ensure the intergenerational transmission of cultural knowledge.

The Mountain Province Board Members passed such ordinance as a response to the call of the Cordillera Regional Development Council to all the provincial government units, cities, and municipalities of the region to enact comprehensive ordinances in the safeguard of the IP attires. Recently, the RDC noted the rising cases of misappropriation of cultural attires across the region.

Violators of the ordinance will be penalized.