IP EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ADSDPP!

LOOK: Domaget leaders engage development partners and stakeholders last April 28, 2021 during the recently concluded DOMAGET ADSDPP FORMULATION // AD DEVELOPMENT STAKEHOLDERS FORUM in Dingalan, Aurora.
Among those present were the Local Government Unit of Dingalan, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the 91st Infantry Sinagtala Battalion inside Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation.
Among the development needs amd burning issues raised and discussed by the Domaget leaders include:
1. Support of the Dingalan LGU in the ADSDPP formulation, and the ongoing delineation and titling of the Domaget Ancestral Domain;
2. Upholding the IP’s inherent right to Free, Prior amd Informed Consent (FPIC) guaranteed by the Constitution, IPRA and relevant policies and gudielines specially in road projects being implemented by the DPWH and Dingalan LGU;
3. Close coordination and cooperation of the Philippine Army with the Domaget ICCs in matters of security, peace-building, and the overlapping Military Reservation to the 28,000 has Domaget AD;
4. Active recognition of the DENR of the Indigenous Knowledge, Systems and Practices (IKSP) of the Domaget in forest management, land use patterns, and resource utilization;
5. Conduct of separate forums to discuss fulfillment and violations of IP Rights.
The forum highlights the expression of the Domaget ICCs/IPs of their rights to self-governance and self-determined development and priorities. The NCIP Administrative Order No. 2, s. 2018 or the Revised Guidelines on the Formulation of ADSDPP upholds empowerment which means that the ICCs/IPs have ownership and full control of the land. Indigenous Peoples are not mere beneficiaries of projects, whether from the government or development aid, but the “prime movers” and “prime drivers” of plans and projects, especially projects that significantly affect their community. Empowerment is exercised by the ICCs/IPs when they formulate their ADSDPP.