HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Republic of the Philippines RECEIVED
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVHS 3.0 JUN 2016
Quezon City ae ow
“TIVE: 4
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS| BY:
First Regular Session
House Bill No. 579 RESSTRATON UST

BILLS AND INDEX SERVICE

Introduced by REP. JOSE T. PANGANIBAN, JR.,
of ANAC-IP Partylist

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Article II, Section 22 of the 1987 Constitution provides that “(T)he State recognizes and
promotes the rights of indigenous cultural communities within the framework of national unity and
development.” Hence, the promotion of a society recognizing and promoting the rights of Indigenous
Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) within the framework of the 1987 Constitution
and Republic Act 8371, otherwise known as the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997.

To date, there is an estimated 22 million people who are members of ICCs/IPs. However,
almost 60% of them are not duly registered under the Philippine Civil Registration Act. Worst, the
surveys and census of population conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), formerly
National Statistics Office (NSO), did not include the ethnic origin of a person. Thus, there is no
available data of the ethno-linguistics origin of the Philippine populace. Not even the National
Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the primary Government agency mandated in the
formulation and implementation of policies, plans and programs to recognize, protect, and promote
the rights of ICCs/IPS in accordance with the provisions of the 1987 Constitution and RA 8371, has
no compilation of this data

This measure seeks to collect, update, and create a database of ethnic origin of all and every
ipino.

In view of the foregoing, urgent approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

JOSE T. PAYGANIBAN, JR.
Representative ANAC-IP Partylist


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House BillNo.__579

Introduced by REP. JOSE T. PANGANIBAN, JR.,
of ANAC-IP Partylist

AN ACT
MANDATING THE PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY
TO INCLUDE ETHNIC ORIGIN IN THE NATIONAL CENSUS SURVEY :

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

Section I. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Ethnic Origin Census Act
of 2016.”

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the policy of the State to recognize and
promote the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs)
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 of all 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:

(a) Ethnic Origin includes race, national origin and ethno-linguistics origin of a
person;

(b) Indigenous Cultural Communities / Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) as
provided under Section 3 (h) of Chapter II of RA No. 8371, otherwise known as, the
Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997, refer to a group of people or homogenous societies
identified by self-ascription and ascription by others, who have continuously lived as an
organized community on communally bounded and defined territory, and who have, under
claims of ownership since time immemorial, occupied, possessed and utilized such territories,
sharing common bonds of language, customs, traditions, and other distinctive cultural traits,
or who have, through resistance to political, social, and cultural inroads of colonization, non-
indigenous religions and cultures, became historically differentiated from the majority of


Filipinos. ICCs/IPs shall likewise include peoples 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.

Section 4. Duty of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). ~ It shall be the duty of
the Philippine Statistics Authority (formerly National Statistics Office), in coordination with
the National Commission of the Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to ensure the inclusion of the
Ethnic Origin of a person in its national survey and national census starting the year 2016 and
thereafter. The PSA shall employ NCIP employees as guides of the PSA enumerators. These
NCIP guides taken from the different regions of the country must be knowledgeable of the
different ethno-linguistic groups of the Philippines, and must know the dialect and
appropriate manner of talking/ asking culturally-sensitive questions to members of ICCs/IPs.
Furthermore, the PSA shall ensure that all surveys and documents issued by their office
should be culturally sensitive.

Section 5. Duty of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). — It
shall be the duty of the NCIP to conduct the proper training of Enumerators all over the
country to ensure that they have adequate knowledge of the different ethno-linguistic groups
in their area and manner of asking appropriate and culturally sensitive questions to members
of ICCs. Each barangay shall have one guide who is a member of ICC/IP and who will
accompany the NSO enumerator during data gathering. The indigenous guide must be
knowledgeable of the dialect, way of life, and culture of the ICC and must be able to
communicate with the IPs in their respective areas.

Section 6. Appropriations. — The amount of One Hundred Million Pesos
(Php.100,000,000.00) shall be appropriated to the office of NCIP for the training of
enumerators and the amount of Two Hundred Million Pesos (Php.200,000,000.00) shall be
appropriated to the office of the Philippine Statistics Authority for the initial implementation
of this Act. These amounts shall be charged against any available appropriation in the
General Appropriations Act (GAA) of the year of its implementation. Thereafter, such sums
as may be necessary shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Section 7. Separability Clause. — If any portion or provision of the Act is declared
void or unconstitutional, the remaining portions or provisions hereof shall not be affected by
such declaration.

Section 8. Repealing Clause. ~ Any provision of law or regulations inconsistent
herewith is hereby repealed, revoked, or modified accordingly.

Section 9. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

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