National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (Philippines)

Last updated

National Commission on Indigenous People
Pambansang Komisyon sa mga Katutubong Mamamayan
Agency overview
FormedOctober 22, 1997 (1997-10-22)
Headquarters Quezon City, Philippines
Annual budget₱1.11 billion (2020) [1]
Agency executive
  • Allen A. Capuyan, Chairperson
Parent Agency Department of Social Welfare and Development
Website www.ncip.gov.ph

The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) is the agency of the national government of the Philippines that is responsible for protecting the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines. [2] The commission is composed of seven commissioners. It is attached to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Contents

History

The commission began as the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes created by the Insular Government during the American Colonial Period of the Philippines. It then became an independent agency called the Commission on National Integration (CNI). In 1972, then President Ferdinand Marcos split CNI into the Southern Philippine Development Authority (SPDA) and the Presidential Assistance on National Minorities (PANAMIN). In 1984, Marcos created the Office of Muslim Affairs and Cultural Communities (OMACC) to assist both Muslim and non-Muslim minorities. [3]

In January 1987, then President Corazon Aquino's administration abolished the OMACC and through three Executive Orders created the Office for the Muslim Affairs (OMA), the Office for Northern Cultural Communities (ONCC), and the Office for Southern Cultural Communities (OSCC). [3]

In 1997, then Presisdent Fidel Ramos signed Republic Act 8371 or Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997, which merged the latter two offices, the Office for Northern Cultural Communities and Office for Southern Cultural Communities into current commission. [3]

Criticism

2011 Mangyan evictions case

In 2011, the commission's Oriental Mindoro office was criticized after it made a meeting with indigenous Mangyan communities in Mindoro, where the commission was pushing for the removal of the indigenous Mangyans from their ancestral domains for the establishment of a landfill proposed by the local government of Puerto Galera. The Mangyan walked out of the meeting, sparking outrage from the top officers of the commission. The news broke out and the national commission itself dropped all its social media accounts and even its own website, leaving only the websites of some branch offices operational. Since it was criticized by the public, the commission's Oriental Mindoro office has been in a limbo state, with no actual programs being done. The head commissioner continues to govern the commission, along with the provincial officer, despite the status quo, surging to further criticisms. Provincial officer of NCIP Oriental Mindoro Karen Ignacio and Puerto Galera mayor Hubbert Dolor retaliated by using the IPRA Law as defense for the establishment of the landfill against the indigenous Mangyan people. The IPRA Law is the same law that was made to protect the rights of indigenous peoples in 1997.

Gaps in the Law

Section 56 of the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997 or the IPRA Law states that “property rights within the ancestral domains already existing and/or vested upon effectivity of this Act, shall be recognized and respected.” This section is problematic as it means that any title before 1997 holds more weight than an ancestral claim. Scholars and pro-indigenous groups have criticized this section as it effectively destroys any ancestral land claim before 1997. Historians have pointed out that most indigenous groups in the Philippines have been in the archipelago prior to Spanish occupation in the 15th century. However, according to Section 56, since there is no proper documentation committed by the indigenous people prior to 1997, an indigenous group cannot claim any land that have been in non-inidgenous possession prior to 1997. This makes multi-national companies and local government units have the power to resist ancestral claims and use the IPRA Law itself to counter indigenous land claims, as testified in an ongoing Mangyan case since 2011, which evicted indigenous Mangyans from a claimed land they have been using for many years. In 2015, it was announced that the indigenous land shall be made into a sanitary landfill by the Puerto Galera local government unit, and that the Mangyans shall be relocated into a site near the landfill itself. All Mangyan-planted coconut trees on the landfill site shall be chopped down by the government and the local government unit shall compensate only 100 pesos (approximately 2 US dollars) each to the Mangyans. [4]

2019 Chico river project case

On May 16, 2019, amid national outrage after the anti-indigenous Chico river dam project was approved by the government, the NCIP called on to stop the project for a moment as they have yet to release a certificate of approval as the area is an indigenous land of their constituents, the Kalinga ethnic people. [5] On May 27, 2019, it was later revealed that the NCIP already released a certificate for the company to continue with the destructive Chico river dam project, mounting to indigenous protests. The locals have stated that the agency (NCIP), which was made to protect the rights of indigenous people, is now serving the greed of multi-national corporations, to the demise of the people that they were intended to serve. [6] On May 28, 2019, the head of the NCIP, Leonor Quintayo, was replaced by Allen Capuyan, after government released a statement which verified that Quintayo was being investigated by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission for intensive corruption. [7]

Related Research Articles

Mindoro

Mindoro is the seventh largest island in the Philippines by land area with a total of 10,571 km2 and with a total population of 1,331,473 as of 2015. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luzon and northeast of Palawan. Mindoro is divided into two provinces: Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro. San Jose is the largest settlement on the island with a total population of 143,430 inhabitants as of 2015. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea. Mount Halcon is the highest point on the island, standing at 8,484 feet (2,586 m) above sea level located in Oriental Mindoro. Mount Baco is the island's second highest mountain with an elevation of 8,163 feet (2,488 m), located in the province of Occidental Mindoro.

Oriental Mindoro Province in Mimaropa, Philippines

Oriental Mindoro is a province in the Philippines located on the island of Mindoro under Mimaropa region in Luzon, about 140 kilometres (87 mi) southwest of Manila. The province is bordered by the Verde Island Passage and the rest of Batangas to the north, by Marinduque, Maestre de Campo Island, Tablas Strait and the rest of Romblon to the east, by Semirara and the rest of Caluya Islands, Antique to the south, and by Occidental Mindoro to the west. Calapan, the only city in the island, is the provincial capital.

Occidental Mindoro Province in Mimaropa, Philippines

Occidental Mindoro is a province in the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. The province occupies the western half of the island of Mindoro. Its capital is Mamburao, but the largest municipality is San Jose. As of 2015, Occidental Mindoro has 487,414 inhabitants.

Puerto Galera Municipality of the Philippines in the province of Oriental Mindoro

Puerto Galera, officially the Municipality of Puerto Galera, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 36,606 people. 

Cordillera Administrative Region Administrative region of the Philippines

Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), also known as Cordillera Region, is an administrative region in the Philippines, situated within the island of Luzon. The only landlocked region in the insular country, it is bordered by the Ilocos Region to west and southwest, and by the Cagayan Valley Region to the north, east, and southeast. It is the least populous region in the Philippines, with a population less than that of the City of Manila.

Mangyan Ethnic groups of Mindoro Island, Phillipenes

Mangyan is the generic name for the eight indigenous groups found on the island of Mindoro, southwest of the island of Luzon, the Philippines, each with its own tribal name, language, and customs. The total population may be around 280,000, but official statistics are difficult to determine under the conditions of remote areas, reclusive tribal groups and some having little if any outside world contact.

Commission on the Filipino Language

The Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino is the official regulating body of the Filipino language and the official government institution tasked with developing, preserving, and promoting the various local Philippine languages. The commission was established in accordance with the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines.

San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro Municipality of the Philippines in the province of Oriental Mindoro

San Teodoro, officially the Municipality of San Teodoro, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 17,904 people. 

Mindoro was a province of the Philippines from 1921 until 1950 when it was split into two provinces, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro. It is located on Mindoro island, Philippines

Ati people Ethnic group of the Philippines

The Ati are a Negrito ethnic group in the Visayas, the central portion of the Philippine archipelago. Their small numbers are principally concentrated in the islands of Boracay, Panay and Negros. They are genetically related to other Negrito ethnic groups in the Philippines such as the Aeta of Luzon, the Batak of Palawan, the Agta of the Sierra Madres, and the Mamanwa of Mindanao.

Human rights in the Philippines pertains to the concept, practice of human rights within the Philippine archipelago. The concept of "human rights," in the context of the Philippines, pertains mainly to the civil and political rights of a person living in the Philippines by reason of the 1987 Philippines Constitution. Human rights are a justified set of claims that set moral standards to members of the human race, not exclusive to a specific community or citizenship. Membership in the human race is the sole qualification to obtain these rights. Human rights, unlike area-specific conventions of international laws, are universally justifiable as it pertains to the entire human race, regardless of geographical location.

The Iraya language is a language spoken by Mangyans on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines. Zorc (1974) places the Iraya language within the North Mangyan group of Malayo-Polynesian languages, though Lobel (2013) notes that it shows "considerable differences" to Tadyawan and Alangan, the other languages in this group. There are 6,000 to 8,000 Iraya speakers, and that number is growing. The language status of Iraya is developing, meaning that this language is being put to use in a strong and healthy manner by its speakers, and it also has its own writing system.

The Sangguniang Bayan is the local legislative branch of the municipal governments in the Philippines. It is responsible for passing ordinances and resolutions for the administration of a municipality. Its powers are defined by the Local Government Code, passed by Congress in 1991.

Indigenous peoples of the Philippines

The Philippines consist of numerous upland and lowland indigenous ethnolinguistic groups living in the country, with Austronesians making up the overwhelming majority, while full or partial Australo-Melanesians scattered throughout the archipelago. The highland Austroneians and Australo-Melanesians have co-existed with their lowland Austronesian kin and neighbor groups for thousands of years in the Philippine archipelago. The primary difference is that they were not absorbed by centuries of Spanish and United States colonization of the Philippines, and in the process have retained their customs and traditions. This is mainly due to the rugged inaccessibility of the mountains and established headhunting and warrior cultures, which discouraged Spanish and American colonizers from coming into contact with the highlanders.

Edwin Gariguez is a Filipino religious leader and environmentalist. He was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2012, for his voicing of protests on behalf of indigenous communities against large scale mining projects in the Philippines.

Ethnic issues in the Philippines Overview of ethnic issues in the Philippines

Ethnic issues in the Philippines are multifarious and emerged in various portions of the history of people, institutions and territories coinciding to that of the present-day Philippines.

Indigenous People's Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA) is a legislation that recognize and promote all the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines

Ancestral domain or ancestral lands refers to the lands, territories and resources of indigenous peoples, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. The term differs from indigenous land rights, Aboriginal title or Native Title by directly indicating relationship to land based on ancestry, while domain indicates relationships beyond material lands and territories, including spiritual and cultural aspects that may not be acknowledged in land titles and legal doctrine about trading ownership.

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) includes traditions and living expressions that are passed down from generation to generation within a particular community.

Ginaw Bilog was a Filipino poet who was recognized as a National Living Treasure by the Philippine government.

References

  1. ↑ Aika Rey (January 8, 2020). "Where will the money go?". Rappler . Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  2. ↑ "History of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines". Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 "About us: History". National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Region VI and VII. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  4. ↑ "48 Mangyan families in Puerto Galera may lose homes to landfill". GMA News Online.
  5. ↑ "Chico River irrigation project lacks NCIP nod, commissioner says". philstar.com.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ↑ "Duterte names new national statistician, NCIP chair". Sunstar. May 28, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.