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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DATE: SEP_07 wie
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Quezon City TIME:_@:p0,
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

Second Regular Session

House Bill No. 7598

Introduced by MAGDALO Party-List Representative
HON. MANUEL DG. CABOCHAN IIT

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Enacted in 1997, Republic Act No. 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA)
gave effect to the constitutional recognition to the estimated 10 to 20 million
Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) and Indigenous Peoples (IPs) located in
various provinces nationwide. It is envisioned to provide more opportunities and
greater community development for our IPs. The success of IPRA, however, has
been minimal.

Despite the efforts exerted by the government, in coordination with private
organizations advocating for the welfare of IPs, and the significant international
support, our IPs remain among the poor and marginalized sectors of society. In
geographically isolated and extreme areas (GIDAs) where many of our IPs have
established their homes, basic services remain deficient. Moreover, there are still
reports of serious violations of their rights and displacement from ancestral lands,
environmental degradation and cultural teardown.

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

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

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

MANUEL DG) CABOCHAN III
Representative
Magdalo Para Sa Pilipino Party-List

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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

Second Regular Session

House Bill No. 7598

Introduced by MAGDALO Party-List Representative
HON. MANUEL DG. CABOCHAN III

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING RESOURCE CENTERS FOR INDIGENOUS CULTURAL
COMMUNITIES/INDIGENOUS PEOPLES TO ENHANCE 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:

SECTION 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 included 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.

SEC. 4. Staff and Components of the ICC/IP Resource Centers The
Commission shall designate in every Center a Chief Coordinating Officer. Concerned
government departments and agencies and local government shall assign staff
members to the Resource Centers.

SEC. 5. 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
concerned government department and agencies, such as training
programs, grant of scholarships, employment, livelihood and enterprises
and health services;

(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 demanded areas, observe laws,
and ensure the implementation of the Ancestral Domain Sustainable
Development and Protection Plans and such other existing programs.

SEC. 6. Annual Reports 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. Appropriations. The initial funding for the implementation of this Act
shall be charged against the current appropriations of the agencies concerned.
Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for its continued implementation shall
be included in the agencies’ annual budgets under the General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. Within ninety (90) days after
the approval of this Act, the Commission shall issue the necessary Rules and
Regulations for the effective implementation of this Act in coordination with the
following concerned government agencies, to wit:

(a) Local Government Units (LGUs);

(b) Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA);

(c) Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD);

(d) Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA);

(e) Department of Education (DepEd);

(f) Commission on Higher Education (CHED);

(g) Commission on Human Rights (CHR);

(h) Department of Justice (DOJ);

(i) Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE);

(j) Department of Trade and Industry (DT1);

(k) Department of Health (DOH);

(!) Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR);

(m) Department of Agriculture (DA);

(n) Land Management Bureau (LMB); and

(0) Land Registration Authority (LRA).

SEC. 9. Repealing Clause. All law, decrees or rule 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.


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SEC. 11. Effectivity— This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following
the completion of its publication in the Official Gazette or in any two (2) newspapers
of general circulation in the Philippines.

Approved,