their children among health workers and in health care facilities. Indigenous women seeking health services, for example, are put in embarrassing situations when providers blame them for their health conditions based on the notion that indigenous peoples are backward, superstitious and uneducated. A staff of the Department of Social Services and Welfare’s has this to say on the health services packaged under the CCT/MCCT program mentioned above : “As for the “health” requirement, I cannot give any clear observations but i think the absence of medical facilities within IP communities will always have an effect to compliance - non-compliance means deduction to their total monthly benefit. When it comes to personnel handling the implementation, they are trained social workers but i think not well-trained to deal with indigenous culture. I think the program lacks some culture sensitivity training for these field personnel” The MNCHN (para 133) program requires women to seek health care service in DOH health facilities and to be attended by skilled or professional health care workers. To this end, and with the aim of attaining the reduction of maternal , antenatal and post natal mortality rates, the Department of Health issued Administrative Order 2008 –0029. The second edition of the MNCHN Strategy Manual of Operations circulated on 2011 requires the local government executive issuances and/or legislations to facilitate and sustain its implementation. One of the policy directives it is pushing for local governments to promulgate to facilitate the achievement of the MNCHN goals is “a) promotion of facility-based deliveries, and prohibition of TBA (traditional birth attendants)-assisted deliveries”.18 In fact, there are local government units which have policy formulations explicitly prohibiting TBAs in delivering babies at home while imposing penalties to mothers and the TBAs for violations. Penalties range from Php 1,000.00 to Php 6,000.00 (21.27 to 127. 66 USD @ 1 USD=47 Php) and or community service. In other areas, imprisonment is part of the penalty. In effect, indigenous birth attendants, usually women, are being disenfranchised and even prohibited by local legislations to attend to maternal and infant care. Such disenfranchisement impedes on indigenous birth attendants’ freedom to practice and develop their knowledge and roles in indigenous health systems. It threatens the displacement and erosion of indigenous knowledge, practice, values and spirituality related to reproductive, child and maternal care and wellbeing.                                                                                                                 18  MNCHN  Manual  of  Operations,  2nd  edition,  2011.  Chapter  7.  7.2.2.  Regulatory  Measures.  P.  63.       17