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The Long and Challenging Road
to
Empowerment of the Indigenous Peoples
By Jacqueline L. Ong
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They consist OF
15 percent of the Philippine population yet they
are considered marginalized. They were once the
original inhabitants of the archipelago who resisted
colonization yet they are now considered the poorest
of the poor.
The indigenous peoples (IPs) in the country number 12
million, grouped in 110 tribes and are scattered
throughout the islands.
According to statistics, eight of the ten poorest
provinces are populated mainly by these |
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Republic Act 8371,
a landmark law that grants IPs means to receive
official title to ancestral domains, among others.
Road to Empowerment
Every year in August, the whole world remembers the fates of these
peoples. In a message, United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon states, “Our
fast-paced world requires us to act with urgency in
addressing these issues.
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Right Act of the
Philippines, a two-volume publication documenting
the stories, struggles and victories of this
marginalized group, at the University of the
Philippines, Diliman. The books feature case studies
written by professors, sociologists, lawyers,
doctors and researchers on topics such as protecting
indigenous intellectual property rights, human
rights violations, managing ancestral domains,
protecting indigenous |
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On the Right Track
The Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia with a
national law like IPRA and this has prompted the
commendation of international organizations. “If we
compare the situation of our IPs with those of the
world, they’re better off here because we have a law
as a basis for the recognition of their rights. This
is a socially-biased law for the promotion,
protection and recognition of |
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cultural
communities: Apayao, Ifugao and Batanes, Basilan,
Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Saranggani.
Discriminatory Exclusion
“IP worldwide continue to be subject to discriminatory exclusion. IPs are
among the poorest groups, with limited choices and
limited opportunities in terms of employment and
occupation,” says International Labor Organization (ILO)
Deputy Director Keiko Niimi quoting her Director
General Juan Somavia. “Lack of equal access to basic
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their rights with
due regard to their ancestral domains and lands,
self-governance and empowerment, social justice and
human rights, and cultural integrity,” says Director
Marie Grace Pascua of the NCIP.
Despite having positive instruments, however, “the road to
empowerment for IPs is long and challenging,” notes
Niimi. And a concerted action to meet the needs of
the IPs in the Philippines and the world, one step
at a time “in part through support of IP claims of
self-evident rights so long denied” is a commitment
that the ILO is |
The Indigenous Peoples of the
Philippines
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social services,
compounded by a history of discrimination and
prejudice, has ingrained poverty in indigenous
communities,” she adds.
The ILO started its involvement with the tribal communities
for 50 years now. The ILO Convention 107 in 1957
(updated in 1989 as Convention 169) became the lead
international legal instrument exclusively dealing
with the rights of the indigenous peoples. In the
Philippines, the Convention eventually led to the
passing of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act or |
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As we do,
let us be guided by the fundamental
principle of indigenous peoples’ full and
effective participation.” He is recalling
the theme of the Second International Decade
of the World’s Indigenous People
(2005-2015), “Partnership in Action and
Dignity.”
In an effort to pave the way towards this endeavor, the
ILO recently launched the book The Road to
Empowerment: Strengthening the Indegenous
People’s |
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intellectual property rights and other
issues faced by the IPs. The studies are
funded by the government of New Zealand and
are a joint collaboration by the ILO, the UN
Development Programme and the National
Commission on Indigenous Peoples, the
primary government agency under the Office
of the President that formulates and
implements policies, plans and programs for
the rights and well-being of IPs in the
Philippines. |
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taking to heart.
For the NCIP, Pascua cites human rights violations
and development (mining) programs being put up in IP
areas as challenges that should be addressed if the
country is to pursue the track towards empowering
its original yet most vulnerable peoples.
*The IPs in the Philippines are part of tribes named as Ifugao,
Ibaloi, Kankanaey, Kalinga, Isneg, Tingguian,
Bugkalot, Dumagat, Aeta, Ati, Mangyan, Manobo,
Tagbanua, Teduray, Subanen, T’boli, Bagobo, Higaonon
and about a hundred others |
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