12 May 2023 | National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) facilitated a meeting with Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Project Management Unit at the NCIP Central Office – Conference Room in Quezon City.

 

Representing NCIP were Legal Affairs Office (LAO) Director Atty. Gillian Dunuan, Dr. Donato Bumacas of Foreign-Assisted Programs and International Relations (FAPIRO), Division Chiefs and staff; while Chief Nemalie Lita represented DENR-Wildlife Regulation Section; ABS Project Management Unit were represented by Project Manager Anthony Foronda and Atty. Ping Peria.

 

The conducted consultations for the ABS Project implementation and deliberation of agreed terms and confirmation of drafted Memorandum of Agreement (MOA between NCIP-DENR-Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) were discussed during the meeting.

 

As part of the agreements, FAPIRO will now manage the ABS project since it is foreign-funded. Dr. Bumacas suggested the development of a mechanism to involve Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) in ABS project as partners in the project’s implementation and since the project’s locus is in an ancestral domain.

 

As to the MOA, it will undergo deliberation to Commission En Banc (CEB) session to discuss further options to make it more beneficial to ICCs/IPs.

 

NCIP commits to deepen the involvement of ICCs/IPs in the project implementation to uphold their rights and wellbeing through collaborative efforts as stakeholders.