INDIGENOUS PEOPLES NEWS

COTABATO CITY--- Dispossession of lands in ancestral domains remained as the major problem besetting the indigenous people in Southern Philippines.

Leaders of the Higaonon, Lambangian. Teduray, Blaan, Erumanen ne Menuvu and Menubo Dulangan communities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao told reporters, during a dialogue Thursday, that they are expecting the BARMM legislature to focus attention on the issue.

ARAKAN, North Cotabato – Two centenarians in separate remote indigenous villages here have availed of the late birth registration service offered by the provincial government through its “Barangayan Serbisyo Caravan” program.

James Labiano, the focal person of the “Serbisyo Caravan,” said Wednesday the program aims to bring government services to the periphery of the community, particularly the indigenous peoples (IPs), to provide access to government services.

COTABATO CITY – A total of 160 members of indigenous peoples (IPs) across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are set to benefit from free skills training on modern agriculture techniques.

This, after the BARMM’s Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education - Technical Education Skills Development (MBHTE-TESD) and the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples' Affairs (MIPA) agreed to provide free skills training for IPs in the region.

KORONADAL CITY - Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in Brgy. Domolol, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat received livelihood assistance from the Department of Agriculture (DA) 12.

Through the Barangay Extension Service Operation (BESO) Outreach Program initiated by DA 12 Regional Executive Director Arlan Mangelen, over PhP 1.2-Million worth of agricultural projects was turned over by the agency to the IP-beneficiaries.

The said activity was the 6th BESO program held across SOCCSKSARGEN Region.

KORONADAL CITY - Twelve ethnic Blaan community leaders have fused ranks to support the Philippine Army’s peace and development programs in their tribal enclaves in Tupi town.

Major Gen. Juvymax Uy of the Army’s 6^th Infantry Division said Sunday the Blaan leaders also planned to embark, along with the 5^th Special Forces Battalion and the 601^st Infantry Brigade, on forums meant to disseminate to the public the contents of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, or IPRA.

COTABATO CITY - During dry season, locals in Barangay Looy, South Upi, Maguindanao has to fetch water from a dug well located in the lower part of the mountainous village, the only source left for the community to avail water safe water for daily consumption.

COTABATO CITY - Safe drinking water is abundant now in Barangay Looy, South Upi town as a result of a water supply facility constructed by foreign benefactors and the Bangsamoro government, Mayor Reynalbert Insular said Thursday.

“Supply of safe drinking water in that area was scarce before because it is a high ground and springs are far from villages,” Insular said.

MAGUINDANAO --- Relatives of an ethnic Teduray farmer killed by gunmen Friday night in Datu Hoffer town urged Sunday their tribal leaders and the police to cooperate in putting closure to the gruesome incident.

The 46-year-old John Daya Benito died on the spot from multiple gunshot wounds.

Benito’s wife, Gloria, 33, said one of the gunmen who arrived in their farm at about 7:00 p.m. Friday casually approached her husband and opened fire with an assault rifle.

Benito, father of six grade school children, died on the spot from multiple bullet wounds.

KORONADAL CITY - The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) have started the assessment and validation for the potential training for the cultural communities in the country, including the Indigenous Peoples of Region 12.

Region 12 was chosen for the validation and assessment of Beadworks Accessories and Diversified Beadwork Product Making NC II at Lake Sebu, South Cotabato last Month.

COTABATO CITY --- Southern indigenous communities felt elated with the publication of three books on their cultures and ancestral domains, for them essential to the preservation of their centuries-old identities.

The three books, Pagkilala, Paggalang and Pagtaguyod, depicting the cultural-pluralism among the country’s indigenous sectors were published by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples under its Project Epanaw, launched last March 14 in Davao City.