PEACE BY PEACE
The indigenous peoples (IPs) are among the marginalized sectors of Philippine society. One only has to go to the highland communities across the country where these IPs live to see their current living conditions.
Over the years, the national government has undertaken various efforts to address the plight of our IPs, particularly through the passage of key legislation such as the Indigenous Rights People’s Act of 1997 or the IPRA Law.
The IPRA’s passage was considered a major milestone for the nation’s IPs, as it finally recognized their inherent right to their ancestral domains, self-governance, social justice, and cultural integrity.
In parallel, the Bangsamoro government through the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) has passed the Bangsamoro Indigenous Peoples’ Act of 2024 in Dec 10, also known as the IP Code to ensure that the welfare of non-Moro IP is well respected. In a press statement, the BTA said with the IP Code, key rights of the IPs are now prioritized, including the rights to ancestral domain, self-governance, cultural integrity, and social justice.
Essentially, these laws acknowledged that the country’s IPs play an integral part of the country’s history and that they too could play a key role in the nation’s march toward long-lasting peace and sustainable development.
It is in this context that the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs (MIPA) forged a Memorandum of Agreement on Feb. 10, 2025.
The MOA was facilitated by the Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB), a joint mechanism composed of top officials of agencies and ministries coming from the National and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) governments.
The landmark agreement seeks to uphold and preserve the rights of IPs, ensure their welfare, and empower them to face existing and emerging challenges to their well-being as a people.
The agreement was sealed three months after the Memorandum of Cooperation between the NCIP and MIPA expired, prompting the IGRB to facilitate the creation of a technical working group to tackle concerns affecting IPs in the BARMM.
In her message delivered by Undersecretary Wilford Will L. Wong, Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, IGRB co-chairperson for the national government, stressed the crucial role of the IGRB in championing the welfare of IPs.
The budget chief noted that the IGRB has taken the necessary steps to bring the NCIP and the MIPA together to look into the issues being raised by no-Moro IPs and communities within the BARMM.
Sec. Pangandaman, a proud Bangsamoro, declared that the IGRB “is fully committed in further improving our coordination with the NCIP and MIPA that would help our services to the indigenous peoples and indigenous cultural communities in the BARMM.”
Bangsamoro Education Minister and IGRB co-chairperson for the Bangsamoro government, Mohagher Iqbal noted that by being a signatory to the agreement, the MIPA’s policies are part of the Bangsamoro government’s efforts to champion the welfare of IPs in the region.
Min. Iqbal said the agreement “is a significant step in ensuring that our indigenous peoples in the Bangsamoro are not only recognized, but are fully included in the governance, development, and decision-making processes that shape their lives.”
MIPA Minister Melanio Ulama remarked that the agreement “represents a major step forward in strengthening our partnership and collaboration.”
It is “also a manifestation that the Bangsamoro Government is truly committed on its vision of building an inclusive government that truly represents the diverse voices and needs of its people regardless of their background, faith, or identity,” he said.
Representative Allen Jesse Mangaoang, chairperson of the House Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples, highlighted the power of unity in resolving challenging issues affecting IPs in the region.
“It only shows that when people in government work in unity, madali lang natin bigyang solution ang mga hinaing ng ating mga kakabayan (it is easy for us to give solutions to the concerns of our fellowmen),” Rep. Mangaoang said.
I thank the House of Representatives particularly Rep Mangaoang for his leadership in resolving the remaining issues confronting the IPs, especially in the five municipalities of Maguindanao provinces.
NCIP Chairperson Jennifer Sibug-Las described the agreement as “historic” that will “ensure the protection and promotion of the indigenous cultural communities within the BARMM area.”
“We know very well that this partnership will actually also promote fundamental values, that no one shall be left behind,” Chair Sibug-Las said, adding the MOA “is also our reaffirmation of our commitment to the thrust of the current administration’s ‘Bagong Pilipinas.’”
In line with President Ferdinand R. Marco, Jr’s commitment, the agreement will formally establish a partnership framework that will harmonize, facilitate cooperation, provide protection, and champion the rights of our non-moro IPs and the areas they reside in within the Bangsamoro.
During the previous hearing, our agency, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Reconciliation and Unity, raised key points that will address the issues of the non-Moro IPs communities in the BARMM.
There has to be stable security in the IP communities; the resolution of the drivers of conflict must center on political and land issues; long-term solutions should be anchored on security, socio-economic, transitional justice, and land distributions; harmonization of the implementation and promotion of the IP rights and Human Security; and the creation of municipal task force to the five municipalities in the Maguindanao provinces where violence against non-Moro IPs have been recorded.
I expressed hope that the agreement will boost the collective efforts of stakeholders in resolving key issues while fostering inclusive peace and development for non-Moro IPs and their communities in the Bangsamoro.
We must remember that our IP brothers and sisters are essential to the Bangsamoro region. Their rich culture and history are what make the Bangsamoro a remarkable melting pot of people whose heritage is tied to their homeland.
This is why the joint efforts of the national and Bangsamoro governments through the IGRB are crucial not only in resolving issues affecting our IPs, but more importantly, in creating a better, brighter and more peaceful future for our IP brothers and sisters in the BARMM.
(Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., is the presidential adviser on peace, reconciliation and unity.)