REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

House Bill No, _ 8406

Introduced by MAGDALO Party-List Representative
HON. GARY C. ALEJANO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Enacted in 1997, R.A. No. 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act gave effect to
the constitutional recognition to the estimated twelve to fifteen million Indigenous Cultural
Communities (ICs) and Indigenous Peoples (IPs) located in forty-eight provinces and
thirteen cities nationwide. It has hoped to provide for our IPs, who has labeled themselves as
marginalized, more opportunities and greater community empowerment.

The success of IPRA however is minimal, for despite the efforts exerted by the
government, in coordination with private organizations advocating for IPs, and significant
international support, our indigenous peoples continually remain among the poor and
marginalized sectors of our society. In geographically isolated and extreme areas (GIDAS),
where many of our indigenous peoples have found their homes, basic services remain
deficient. Moreover, reports of serious violations of their rights, their displacement from the
ancestral lands, the environmental degradation, and cultural teardown are still abound.

For the abovementioned reasons, the establishment of resource centers for indigenous
peoples is highly necessary. These centers shall be ethnographically located, gender and
rights based, as determined by the NCIP. It shall constitute the following service areas

Statistical Service Area, Human Development Index Service Area and Domains Management
Service Area.

To expeditiously address the enduring plight of our indigenous peoples, immediate
approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

ARY C. ALEJANO
Representative
Magdalo Para sa Pilipino Party-List



REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

House BillNo. __ 8406

Introduced by MAGDALO Party-List Representative
HON. GARY C. ALEJANO

AN ACT.
ESTABLISHING RESOURCE CENTERS FOR INDIGENOUS CULTURAL
COMMUNITIES/INDIGENOUS PEOPLES TO ENHANCE AND ENSURE
DELIVERY OF ESSENTIAL SERVICES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SEC.1. Short Title.- This Act shall be known as the “Resource Centers for Indigenous
Peoples Act of 2014”

SEC.2. Declaration of Policy.- It is hereby the policy of the State to provide
Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs)’ Indigenous Peoples (IPs) equal access to basic
services and ensure protection of their rights, taking into consideration their customs,
traditions, values and beliefs. Towards this end, there is a need to set up Resource Centers in
all ethnographic regions to enhance the delivery of government's basic services and enable
them to be recognized and counted and have freedom to engage in participatory development
programs, projects and activities.

SEC.3. Establishment of Resource Centers for ICCs/IPs.- There shall be
established ICCs /IPs Resource Centers, hereinafter referred to as the “Center”, in strategic
places as determined by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), hereinafter
referred to as the “Commission”, taking into consideration their ethnological locations.

SECA. Staff and Components of the ICC/P Resource Centers.- ‘The Commission
shall designate in every Center a Chief Coordinating Officer. Concerned government
departments and agencies and local governments shall assign staff members to the Resource
Centers.

SECS. Composition and Functions of the Center.- The Center shall be composed
of the following three (3) major service areas and their respective functions namely:

A) Statistical Service Area- documentation and recognition of ICCS/IPs their
indigenous knowledge, systems and practices, political structures and customary
laws through census, appraisal and baseline reports and libraries;


B) Human Development Index Service Area- addresses problems of ICCs/IPs and
provide basic and necessary services through link-up with concemed government
department and agencies, such as training programs, grant of scholarships,
employment, livelihood and enterprises and health services; and

C) Domains Management Service Area- promotion of participatory programs,
Projects and activities for ICCs/IPs to effectively deliver their responsibility of
maintaining ecological balance, restore denuded areas, observe laws, and ensure
the implementation of the Ancestral Domains Sustainable Development and
Protection Plans and such other existing programs.

SEC.6. Monitoring Progress and Implementation and Impact of this Act- ‘The
Commission shall submit to Congress every three (3) years or as determined in the
implementing rules and regulations, an annual report of its accomplishments.

SEC.7. Funding.- The initial funding requirements for the implementation of this Act
shall be charged against the current appropriations of the agencies concemed. Thereafter,
such sums as may be necessary for its continued implementation shall be included in the
agencies’ yearly budgets under the General Appropriations Act.

SEC.8. Implementing Rules and Regulations, — Within ninety (90) days after the
approval of this Act, the Commission, in coordination with the following concerned
govemment agencies, to wit: Local Government Units (LGUs), Philippine Statistics
Authority (PSA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Education (DepEd),
Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Commission on Human Rights (CHR),
Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Agriculture (DA), Land Management Bureau
(LMB), Land Registration Authority (LRA), and such other concerned agencies, shall issue
the necessary Rules and Regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC.9. Repealing Clause.- All laws, decrees or rules inconsistent with the provisions
of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC.10. Separability Clause.- If any part, section or provision of this Act shall be
held invalid or unconstitutional, no other part, section or provision thereof shall be affected
thereby.

SEC.11. Effectivity.- This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following the
completion of its publication either in the Official Gazette or in newspaper of general
circulation in the Philippines.

Approved,