The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) led the kick-off for the Inter-Agency National Indigenous Peoples (IPs) Birth Registration Special Project through the ceremonial signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with partner-agencies last Dec. 15.

DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo signed the partnership with representatives from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to signal the launch of the project that will ensure birth registration of indigenous peoples (IPs) in the country.

“This project will not only include indigenous peoples in the national registry of birth but will likewise pave the way for inclusion towards building and fostering relationships between their community and the government,” Tulfo said.

As part of the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to bring the government closer to the public, the special project will be implemented nationwide to increase civil registration among marginalized communities, particularly those belonging to indigenous cultural communities (ICCs), Muslim Filipinos, and poor sectors.

Moreover, the convergence effort of the DSWD and its partner-agencies is focused on bringing birth registration closer to IPs and ICCs in different parts of the country.

“This undertaking will benefit our IP brothers and sisters on an equal footing from the opportunities and privileges granted by national laws and regulations to other segments of the population,” Tulfo said.

Through the comprehensive birth registration project, members of various ICCs in the country will be given birth certificates that will help them access government programs and services.