The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) signed a memorandum of agreement with Bounty Agro Ventures Inc. (BAVI) for the Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs)'s economic development.
This alliance, NCIP said in a Facebook post, will "lead to positive changes" in the lives of the ICCs/IPs.
It will be done by creating jobs, livelihood activities, and enterprises that will boost economic productivity in the ancestral domains.
"The partnership between ICCs/IPs with stakeholders, both Public and Private Sectors, is actually a convergence in bridging the gaps," said NCIP Chairperson Allen A. Capuyan at the contract signing ceremony on Sept. 10.
This strategic partnership is also in compliance with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.’s "economic agenda and food security priorities" where the ICCs/IPs' lands will be used for a wide range of agricultural efforts, NCIP said.
Those initiatives are expected to help bring food security and economic stability to the Philippines, NCIP added.
"Anywhere in the world, even the richest economist in the world, Hindi kayang gampanan ng gobyerno ang lahat ng pangangailangan ng bayan, dapat tumulong ang mga Private Sector at ibang kumpanya upang magkaroon ng kakayanang lumago ang negosyo sa Pilipinas (Anywhere in the world, even the richest economist in the world, the government alone cannot fulfill all the nation's needs. The private sector and other companies should help in order for businesses in the country to grow)," said Ronald Mascariñas, BAVI president and general manager.
BAVI is the biggest rotisserie chicken company in the country.
Last Sept. 9, NCIP also sealed a partnership with Kabisig ng Kalahi and Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines with the same goal of solving the socio-economic problems of the ICCs/IPs.