SENATOR Robinhood “Robin” C. Padilla sought action from various government agencies to protect the rights of Muslims and Indigenous People (IPs), along with the swift passage of bills that would empower them.
Padilla chaired recently a Senate hearing that tackled at least ten bills seeking to establish resource centers for IPs, indigenous community conserved territories and areas, traditional property rights of IPs, and the declaration of Sheikh Karim’ul Makdhum Day.
Padilla particularly sought more powers for the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), which he said should be the lead agency in upholding the rights of IPs. During the hearing, Padilla noted there are now at least 110 indigenous people’s groups consisting of 14 to 17 million Filipinos. Of these, 61% are in Mindanao, while 33% are in Northern Luzon.
He highlighted on the challenges faced by the IPs being among the “poorest” in the Philippines and in the whole world. Citing figures from the World Bank (WB), he said IPs account for 6% of the global population but represent 20% of the world’s extreme poor.
On the other hand, Padilla asked government agencies to take action on immediate concerns of the IPs, including fake weaving products reportedly coming from China.
He also urged the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to facilitate the registration of IPs so they can avail of government services, including social welfare aid.
Elma Jabonillo, Registration Officer III of the PSA’s Civil Register Management Division, noted that while they aim to register two million birth certificates of marginalized sectors, including IPs and Muslim Filipinos, they have so far registered 1.34 million.
With additional reports: The Manila Times, Javier Joe Ismael
