The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) joined the unification efforts among government agencies, the private sector and multi-stakeholders during the National Indigenous Peoples (IPs) Summit held at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Commissioned Officers Clubhouse in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Nov. 16.

DSWD Undersecretary Allan Tanjusay welcomed the representatives of the 101 indigenous cultural communities during the National Indigenous Peoples Summit 2022.

“This summit serves as a call to action for stakeholders to address the institutional and structural gaps in governance that make the indigenous peoples one of the most underrepresented and underserved sectors in the Philippine Society,” Tanjusay said as he delivered the message of DSWD Secretary Erwin T. Tulfo.

Through the National IP Summit, various sectors were able to express their support and commitment towards helping the indigenous cultural communities and indigenous peoples (ICCs/IPs) in fulfilling their significant role in nation-building.

A pledge of support and manifesto of peace, unity, and development for the indigenous communities and their ancestral domains was signed by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) alongside other concerned offices and the IP leaders.

Meanwhile, the DSWD, as the supervising agency of the NCIP, recognized the efforts of the Commission in advancing the interests of the ICCs and IPs across the country through the first-ever National IP Summit.

“The DSWD is one with all of you in this noble convergence effort to mainstream our IP brothers and sisters into our society so that they can exercise their rights to self-governance and secure their ancestral domains and ancestral lands,” Tanjusay said.

With the theme “Building Families, Building Ancestral Domain/Ancestral Land Communities and Building the Nation,” the event was an outcome of the long-standing commitment between the public and the private sector in operationalizing the 11 building blocks of ancestral domains. (PNA)