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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES \ ¢
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

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HOUSE BILL no "355

Introduced by Reps. NERI J. COLMENARES and CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE

AN ACT
TO INCLUDE ETHNIC ORIGIN IN THE NATIONAL SURVEYS, CENSUSES AND
OTHER DATA-GATHERING METHODS CONDUCTED BY THE NATIONAL
STATISTICS OFFICE (NSO)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Section 21 (Equal Protection and Non-discrimination of ICs /IPs) of the Republic Act 8371,
otherwise known as the “Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997 ot IPRA states that “she State shall,
swith due recognition oftheir distinct characteristics and identity, acord to the members of the ICs IPs the rights,
protections and privileges enjoyed by the rest ofthe citizenry. It shall extend to them the same employment rights,
opportunities, basic services, educational and other rights and privileges available o every member of the society”
Section 25 (Basic Services) further attests that “The ICC/IP have the right to special measures for the
immediate, effective and continuing improvement of their economic and social conditions, including in the areas of
employment, vocational training and retraining, bousing, sanitation, health and social security.”

However, the above-mentioned provisions of the law are not fully realized because of a yawning
lack of disaggregated data on the indigenous population (IP) in the country. National statistics fail to
reflect the situation of the indigenous peoples because data on indigenous peoples are hidden in
national averages. Even to date, an accurate count of the indigenous peoples population in the
country is not available.

‘This state of deficient disaggregated data on indigenous peoples in the country has a significant
implication on the government's planning and decision-making. Itis therefore deemed that for
government's policies, programs and projects to become sensitive and responsive to the needs of
the country’s indigenous people, there should be a timely, accurate and useful statistics on the IP
population.

This proposed legislation aims for the inclusion of data items related to indigenous peoples to wit,
ethnicity by descent/consanguinity/blood line and language, in all national censuses when this
measure is signed into law. The inclusion of the ethnicity indicator will generate disaggregated
demographic data on the indigenous peoples, while the language indicator will produce data relevant


to the ethno-linguistic groups in the country. These are indispensable in knowing the real state of the
country’s indigenous peoples as basis for national planning and decision-making,

‘The previous Congress approved this measure on third reading and thus immediate approval of this
bill is earnestly sought in the 16" Congress.

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CARLOS ew,
Bayan Muna Party-List



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNo. !" 355.

Introduced by Reps. NERI J. COLMENARES and CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE

AN ACT
TO INCLUDE ETHNIC ORIGIN IN THE NATIONAL SURVEYS, CENSUSES AND
OTHER DATA-GATHERING METHODS CONDUCTED BY THE NATIONAL
STATISTICS OFFICE (NSO)

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as “Ethnic Origin Act of 2013.”

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. - \t is the policy of the State to recognize and promote the tights
of indigenous cultural communities within the framework of national unity and development. The
State shall give the highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right
ofall the people to human dignity; reduce social, economic and political inequalities; and remove
cultural inequities.

Section 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean the
following:

(@) "Ethnic origin" includes race, national origin and ethno-linguistics origin.

(©) "Indigenous peoples" shall, as provided under Section 3(h), Chapter II of Republic Act No.
8371 or the "Indigenous People's Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997", refers to a group of people who are
regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the
country, at the time of conquest or colonization, or at the time of inroads of non-indigenous
religions and cultures, or the establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of
their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions but who may have been displaced from
their traditional domains or who may have resettled outside their ancestral domains,

(©) “Muslim Filipinos” refers to a group of people of the Moro ethno-linguistic groups who
largely reside in Mindanao but also have communities present in parts of the Visayas and Luzon.

Section 4. Duties of Relevant Government Agencies, - It shall be the duty of the National
Statistics Office (NSO), in coordination with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples
(NCIP), National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), and the National Statistical
Coordination Board (NSCB) to conduct a special survey to ascertain the actual number and other
demographic data of indigenous peoples in the Philippines and ensure the inclusion of Ethnic


Origin in its national surveys, censuses and other data-gathering methods upon the approval of this
Act.

Section 5. Appropriation Clause. - The amount necessary to effectively carry out the provisions of
this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Section 6. Separability Clause. - If any portion or provision of the Act is declated void or
unconstitutional, the remaining portions or provisions hereof shall not be affected by such
declaration.

Section 7. Repealing Clause. - Any provision of law or regulations inconsistent herewith is hereby
repealed, revoked or modified accordingly.

Section 8. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect (15) days after its publication in two (2)
newspapers of general circulation,

Approved,