OUTCR P
Mapagpalayang kaisipan sa malayang pahayagan Oktubre-Disyembre 2014
For the defense of land, life and resources
CPA calls to abolish NCIP DANNA LLAINE RUIZ
C
reated through the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997, October 29, 2014 marks the seventeenth year of the National Commission of Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) but several groups, led by the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), question its credibility as the representation of indigenous peoples.
In the SUMIKAD KORDILYERA! People’s protest held last October 20, 2014, the Cordillerans protested against militarization and national oppression where stories of NCIP connivance with mining and energy companies were exposed. ‘Ally’ of the oppressed Almost 15 per cent of the Philippine population is comprised of indigenous peoples (IP) that are still in tight relation with their customs and traditions. With this, the IPRA was enacted on October 29, 1997 to deal with the protection and preservation of the IP culture and ancestral domain. It also recognizes the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) of indigenous peoples. As such, no projects in any Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICC) can proceed without the FPIC. NCIP shall serve as the primary government agency that formulates and imple-
ments policies and programs for the IP as prescribed by the law. Issuance of Certificates of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) and Certificate of Ancestral Land Title (CALT) is also facilitated by the agency in recognition of the rights and ownership of ICCs/IPs. Behind the sugar coat Though the Act has its good provisions for the protection and preservation of indigenous culture, the IPs sees the agency as a masterpiece of deception and a divisive tool of the State against them. To them, it is the major cause of their problems. Back in 2011, there has been a nationwide call for the abolition of the NCIP due to the incompetence of the agency. Prior to that, an online report back in 2007 was published where the Lumads of Mindanao has expressed their desire to remove the agency for it was the source of conflict and division in their community by means of issuing CADTs and CALTs to the private sector without the recognition of
the FPIC. Meanwhile, CPA released a report last October 20, 2014 stating actual experiences of indigenous communities of the Cordillera region that proved their rejection of the IPRA and NCIP I valid. From December 2002 until March 2007, thirty six accounts of extrajudicial killings on indigenous peoples of Cordillera were recorded. The latest victims of this are William Bugatti of Ifugao and the Ligiw Family of Abra – March 2014; and Engineer Fidela Salvador of Baguio City, Noel Viste of Abra (both September 2014). Accounts of manipulation of FPIC processes were also stated in the report that includes the entry of big energy projects such as Chevron in Guinaang, Kalinga and Hedcor in Sabangan, and Philcarbon in Sagada, Mt. Province. The NCIP also permitted the mining application of Royalco in Bakun, Benguet (2009), and expansion of Lepanto Mines in Mankayan, Benguet (2013). The NCIP is also said to continued at page 3