14 Feb: 10th Interagency Visitation of Chairperson NCIP together with Commissioner

14 Feb: 10th Interagency Visitation of Chairperson NCIP together with Commissioner for Region 3 and the Rest of Luzon Roland Rivera, Commissioner for Region 2, Norberto Navarro, Regional Director Atty. Roland Calde, Director, Office of Empowerment and Human Rights, Renaldo Dingal, Director Ancestral Domains Office Atty. Caesar Ortega, Director, Legal Affairs Office Atty. Gillian Dunuan, and OIC – Director Administrative Service Ms. Rosanna Lingating, at the Covered Court, Sta. Juliana, Capas Tarlac, with the participation of the IP Leaders, Elders, IPMRs, IP Youth, EAP Grantees from the following 3 Ancestral Domains (ADs), to wit:
1. Ayta Hungey/Mahawang, Spanag kawayan AD
2. Ayta Abelling and Hungey ICCs/IPs Pagmimina AD
3. Ayta Mag-Antsi ICCs/IPs Labayku AD
The visitation was also participated by partner Government Agencies and other stakeholders from DTI, Florence Cancio, JICA, Kristalin Mallari and Joseph Peña, TESDA, Gerardo Gomez and Larry S. Perez, DSWD, Eunice Meneses and Christopher Galgo, DepEd, Helen R. Bose and Maria Celina Vega, NHA, Zea Medina and Frank Norman Balceser, BCDA, Zenaida Metchado, Lhorenz Patrick Martinez, Rich Canez, Elmer Abad and Joseph Ocampo, CENRO CAPAS, Avelino Bavallo and Erica Paraso-Bairo, DOLE, Pia Monica Quijano and Dennis Mariano, Brgy Capt. Sta. Juliana Capas, Jude Lenon, Capas MPS PCTCOL SAMUEL FERNANDEZ, 3rd MECH BN, EUGENE HENRY CABUSAO, PAF, JOSEPH REVILLA. The Capas Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan also attended the activity and expressed his concerns and advocacy to settle the displacement of the IP community involving the PAF and the NIA.
Before proceeding to the discussions of burning issues, the chairperson expressed the need for unified action by the community through their customary laws in engaging all kinds of issues affecting their rights.
Then the Chairperson continued to discuss the 11 Building Blocks of a Resilient, Responsive, and Relevant ICCs/IPs from the 36 Specific Rights from the 4 Bundles of Rights provided for by the IPRA of 1997 and the correlation of the 11 Building Blocks with the 12 Lines of Effort, NTF ELCAC Framework.
The burning issues and their corresponding ways forward were discussed as follows:
1. Overlapping of Philippine Airforce/ CERAB and BCDA within LABAYKU AD and PAGMIMIHA AD that may result to their relocation from their ADs. – The NHA has already engaged the IP Community and for the scheduling of a Joint Regional Task Force Meeting with the NCIP, DND Airforce Community and LGU, PLEDS, LCC and STRATCOMM.
2. AMTA-AKMA-HUNGEY CADT Application Registration – Conducted a unification meeting held in Sitio Sapang Kawayan inside their AD, but the unification effort failed. The recommendation/ suggestion is to have their own meeting with their clan leader to settle on who will be authorized to represent in the CADT application (two group of Capiz clan claim to be the authorized representative) and for the immediate registration after the segregation of private properties.
3. Possible relocation of the IP Community by reason of the Balog Balog Dam – NIA expressed that the project went through the process of FPIC where there is an existing MOA between the community and the NIA that though the recommended relocation site at sitio torso may not have been accepted by the community the NIA recommended further an alternative which will be their main agenda during their next scheduled meeting.
4. On other issues, the Chairperson encouraged the community to create their Email Addresses, to continue their coordination with LGU, AFP, DSWD, DENR and all other NGAs and Stakeholders in addressing their concerns on illegal selling of ADs, National Greening Program, and other socio- economic projects directed the NCIP to discuss with the community the possible implementation of the CALOM/CADLA.
The program officially closed by giving the community their copies of the Coffee Table Books, NCIP Annual Reports for FY 2019 and 2020 and NTF ELCAC FY 2019 as advocacy materials for the full recognition, respect, promotion and protection of the ICCs/IPs.
The Chairperson was also interviewed by the Philippine Information Agency.
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