EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE
)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
)
First Regular Session
)
of !l)r is i crttfU'i'
JUL23 P5 -14
'19
SENATE
S. B. No. 706
RECElVhD bT:
Introduced by Senator SONNY ANGARA
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING
RESOURCE
C O M M U N IT IE S /IN D IG E N O U S
CENTERS
PEOPLES
FOR
TO
IN D IG E N O U S
ENHANCE
AND
CULTURAL
ENSURE
DELIVERY OF ESSENTIAL SERVICES, A PP R O R IA TIN G FUNDS THEREFOR
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
There are 14-17 million estimated ICCs and IPs mainly concentrated in
Northern Luzon (33% ) and in Mindanao (61% ). The Constitution mandates that the
State shall recognize, protect, promote and fulfill the rights of the indigenous
peoples.
In 1997, Republic Act No. 8371 or the 'Indigenous Peoples Rights Act'(IPRA)
was enacted into law fulfilling the State's constitutional duty to recognize the millions
of Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) and Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in the
country. However, despite the IPRA and the various international aids given to them,
ICCs and IPs remain the most disadvantaged and the poorest in our country.
Geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs) still lack basic
services. The 2010 Report on the State of the World by the United Nations reveal
that ICCs and IPs "make up one-third o f the world's poorest peoples, suffer
disproportionately in areas like health, education, and human rights, and regularly
face systemic discrimination and exclusion." Government has to remedy the
miserable conditions of our ICCs and IPs.
It is imperative to establish Resource Centers in all ICCs/IPs which are
ethnographically located as determined by the National Commission on Indigenous
Peoples (NCIP). These centers shall enhance the delivery of basic, social, technical
and legal services to the ICCs and IPs.