A lawmaker at the House of Representatives has sought for the creation of a government department dedicated to supporting the needs and protecting the rights of indigenous communities in the country.
Through House Bill No. 9808, a department called the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) would be formed which would be better funded and equipped to handle the varying issues faced by the sector.
Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Timothy Cayton, the author of the bill, said that it was important that such an agency be established as he asserted that the passage of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) in 1997 did not properly resolve the problems that indigenous people had with their ancestral domains.
Aside from the development of a new department, Cayton also pushed for a Indigenous Peoples’ Adjudication Board and the Indigenous Peoples’ Community Development Trust Fund to be created in order for specific queries such as rights violations and project funding to be properly acted on.
“Hindi lamang pagkilala sa kanilang karapatan ang kailangan. Dapat mayroon silang direktang kinatawan sa pinakamataas na antas ng gobyerno upang matiyak na naririnig at napapangalagaan ang kanilang mga interes,” the lawmaker said.
(The recognition of their rights is not enough. There has to be a direct representative in the highest level of government that will ensure that their concerns are heard and that their interests are safeguarded)
Cayton viewed the move as an inclusive step towards the recognition of indigenous peoples' important role in the rich history and culture of the Philippines.