FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session ) ) ) '11 JUN -1 .~10 :05 SE.\~A1!858 S.B.No. _ __ Introduced by Senator Loren Legarda II AN ACT TO INCLUDE ETHNIC ORIGIN IN THE NATIONAL SURVEY CONDUCTED BY THE NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE" Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Ethnic Origin Act of 1 2 2011." 3 Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to recognize and 4 promote the rights of indigenous cultural communities within the framework of 5 national unity and development. The State shall give the highest priority to the 6 enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all the people to human 7 dignity, reduce social, economic and political inequalities, and remove cultural 8 inequities. 9 10 Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean the following: 11 (a) "Ethnic Origin" includes race, national origin and ethno-linguistics origin. 12 (b) "Indigenous Peoples (IPs) or Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs)" shall, 13 as provided under Section 3 (h) of Chapter II of RA No. 8371 or the 14 "Indigenous People's Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997", refer to a group of people or 15 homogenous societies identified by self-ascription by others, who have 16 continuously lived as an organized community on communally-bounded and 17 defined territory, and who have, under claims of ownership since time 18 immemorial, occupied, possessed and utilized such territories, sharing 19 common bonds of language, customs, traditions, and other distinctive cultural 1