NCIP chair urges resignation of officials who are 'no longer effective', 'unwilling to respond' to IPs issues

National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Chairperson Allen A. Capuyan urged NCIP officials who are "no longer effective" and "unable and unwilling to respond to legitimate burning issues raised by ICCs/IPs" to voluntarily resign from their position.

In a statement on Monday, Jan. 9, Capuyan said that he witnessed how government bureaucracy works during his term as NCIP chairperson and how the agency's personnel responded to the issues concerning the IPs and Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs).

This, according to him, has led to the realization that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. needs help in the "cleansing process" of officials from offices within and under the Executive Branch.

Capuyan added that staff who respond "half-heartedly" to the agency's problems which worsens the situation should also quit from their post.

"It’s for this reason that I filed cases against a number of our personnel," he noted.

Aside from NCIP personnel, Capuyan also called for the voluntary resignation of some members of the Secretariat of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) who "failed to perform concrete actions" since the beginning of the new administration which might lead to possible irrelevance of the group.

"I also challenge and request local officials and members of other government agencies to fight for the rights of the ICCs/IPs in order to make sure that they do not become, wittingly or unwittingly, instruments in the perpetration of unlawful acts constituting violations of R.A. No. 8371, otherwise known as 'The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997'," he added.