by Arizha Bumatay, Chloe Pidong, and Kim Naparan
Senator Loren Legarda highlighted the strengths and concerns of indigenous people on the opening day of the four-day program, the National Indigenous Peoples Cultural Summit 2014, held at Museum of the Filipino People yesterday.
Legarda said the 2nd National Indigenous Peoples Cultural Summit will be a venue where Indigenous Peoples (IPs) will not only raise their pressing concerns but also be engaged in improving policies and programs that will benefit Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) in the country.
“The main goal of this event is to ensure that the programs of our government and the laws we craft are attuned with the distinctive needs of our IPs. This is a venue where our IPs can engage in dialogue with government agencies, civil society organizations, academe and the donor community,” Legarda said in a statement.
The 2nd National IP Cultural Summit, which will be held from September 2-5, 2014, was organized by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in partnership with Senator Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities. Following the opening program today is a three-day intercultural exchange or workshop that will engage IPs in policy and program development, implementation and evaluation of programs for IPs and ICCs.
The first summit was conducted in October last year in lieu of the celebration of the Indigenous Peoples’ Month and the launching of the Hibla Pavilion of Textile and Weaves of the Philippines with the hope of solving the extinction brought by apathy.
The senator noted that basic services remain waning in most geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas. Further, she reported serious human rights violations, displacement from ancestral domain and destruction of natural environment and cultural values are among serious concerns.
“It is for these reasons that we continue to fight for policies and programs that would give our IPs the respect, recognition and opportunities due them. In coordination with the NCIP, I filed Senate Bill No. 2209 that will create resource centers for IPs. The centers shall serve as access centers to enhance delivery of basic, social, technical and legal services,” she added.
She mentioned that the other bills relevant to IPs include the Ethnic Origin Act that aims to provide accurate and disaggregated data on IPs through a clear definition of ethnicity, which is included in the national census of the Philippine Statistics Authority; the Traditional Property Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which seeks to make an inventory of all cultural properties and mandates the payment of royalties to IPs for the use of their cultural properties; and the Baybayin Act, which will mandate government offices to use Baybayin in their official logos in order to preserve and promote the Philippine traditional scripts.
“As we continue to promote measures that will benefit our indigenous communities, we urge our IPs to likewise continue to fight for their rights and to always protect our cultural heritage,” said Legarda.
Senator Legarda, in coordination with the National Commission of Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), responded to these issues and filed Senate Bill No. 2209 which aims to create resource centers for the IPs. These access centers shall function in the enrichment of basic, social, technical and legal assistance for the community.
Serious concerns raised were a number of human rights violations reported happening in their (IPs’) area, as well as their displacement from their ancestral domain and the destruction of natural environment and cultural values. Senator Legarda has high hopes that the conference would yield better results.
“I hope that this National IP Cultural Summit, through the active involvement of our IPs, leads us to a clearer path on how we can confront the challenges and effectively build policies to protect the knowledge systems and practices of our indigenous peoples, provide them with more opportunities for growth and development, and to further promote our culture and heritage,” Legarda concluded.
*Some information were based from the official website of Senator Loren Legarda. For more details on the event, you can visit their website at http://lorenlegarda.com.ph.
Legarda said the 2nd National Indigenous Peoples Cultural Summit will be a venue where Indigenous Peoples (IPs) will not only raise their pressing concerns but also be engaged in improving policies and programs that will benefit Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) in the country.
“The main goal of this event is to ensure that the programs of our government and the laws we craft are attuned with the distinctive needs of our IPs. This is a venue where our IPs can engage in dialogue with government agencies, civil society organizations, academe and the donor community,” Legarda said in a statement.
The 2nd National IP Cultural Summit, which will be held from September 2-5, 2014, was organized by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in partnership with Senator Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities. Following the opening program today is a three-day intercultural exchange or workshop that will engage IPs in policy and program development, implementation and evaluation of programs for IPs and ICCs.
The first summit was conducted in October last year in lieu of the celebration of the Indigenous Peoples’ Month and the launching of the Hibla Pavilion of Textile and Weaves of the Philippines with the hope of solving the extinction brought by apathy.
The senator noted that basic services remain waning in most geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas. Further, she reported serious human rights violations, displacement from ancestral domain and destruction of natural environment and cultural values are among serious concerns.
“It is for these reasons that we continue to fight for policies and programs that would give our IPs the respect, recognition and opportunities due them. In coordination with the NCIP, I filed Senate Bill No. 2209 that will create resource centers for IPs. The centers shall serve as access centers to enhance delivery of basic, social, technical and legal services,” she added.
She mentioned that the other bills relevant to IPs include the Ethnic Origin Act that aims to provide accurate and disaggregated data on IPs through a clear definition of ethnicity, which is included in the national census of the Philippine Statistics Authority; the Traditional Property Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which seeks to make an inventory of all cultural properties and mandates the payment of royalties to IPs for the use of their cultural properties; and the Baybayin Act, which will mandate government offices to use Baybayin in their official logos in order to preserve and promote the Philippine traditional scripts.
“As we continue to promote measures that will benefit our indigenous communities, we urge our IPs to likewise continue to fight for their rights and to always protect our cultural heritage,” said Legarda.
Senator Legarda, in coordination with the National Commission of Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), responded to these issues and filed Senate Bill No. 2209 which aims to create resource centers for the IPs. These access centers shall function in the enrichment of basic, social, technical and legal assistance for the community.
Serious concerns raised were a number of human rights violations reported happening in their (IPs’) area, as well as their displacement from their ancestral domain and the destruction of natural environment and cultural values. Senator Legarda has high hopes that the conference would yield better results.
“I hope that this National IP Cultural Summit, through the active involvement of our IPs, leads us to a clearer path on how we can confront the challenges and effectively build policies to protect the knowledge systems and practices of our indigenous peoples, provide them with more opportunities for growth and development, and to further promote our culture and heritage,” Legarda concluded.
*Some information were based from the official website of Senator Loren Legarda. For more details on the event, you can visit their website at http://lorenlegarda.com.ph.