TALAINGOD, DAVAO DEL NORTE (19 November 2021) – The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), together with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), line agencies and civil society organizations, conducted a needs assessment among members of the Ata Manobo tribe here on Wednesday.
During the second day of the “IP Healing and Reconciliation Consultations for Peacebuilding Interventions and Needs Assessment for Indigenous Peoples in Talaingod,” tribe members from barangays Dagohoy, Palma Gil and Santo Niño converged under one roof to discuss pressing different issues affecting their communities.
The gathering is considered a milestone since this is the first time that tribe members from all barangays came together to discuss peacebuilding and development efforts.
Representatives from different national government agencies, local government units and civil organizations listened to the concerns raised by members of the IP community, especially those on basic social services, women, youth, security, land use, self-governance and COVID-19.
The conduct of the needs assessment is in line with Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito G. Galvez Jr.’s commitment to help uplift the lives of the country’s indigenous peoples who were influenced and exploited by the Communist-Terrorist Group.
By engaging the IPs at the community-level, the concerned line agencies and LGUs will be able to identify projects and interventions that are best suited to the needs of the people.
“The commitment of the government is that the MLGU and PLGU will try to provide, if their resources permit, the needed interventions. As for the concerned agencies, what we can commit is to include the priorities [raised by the IP community] in our investment programming for next year or the following year depending on the availability of funds,” said Oliver Binancilan, head of OPAPP’s Area Management Office in Eastern Mindanao.
Representatives from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Provincial Government of Davao del Norte, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Municipal Government of Talaingod and Commission on Human Rights (CHR) also participated in the event.
The Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Youth Organization (MIPYO) and Mindanao IP Council of Elders were integral in the whole undertaking.
