EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
S E N A T E
S. B. No. 706
of !l)r is i crttfU'i'
'19 JUL23 P5 -14
RECElVhD bT:
Introduced by Senator SONNY ANGARA
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING 
RESOURCE 
CENTERS 
FOR 
INDIGENOUS 
CULTURAL 
COMM UNITIES/INDIGENOUS 
PEOPLES 
TO 
ENHANCE 
AND 
ENSURE 
DELIVERY OF ESSENTIAL SERVICES, APPRORIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
There are 14-17 million estimated ICCs and IPs mainly concentrated in 
Northern Luzon (33%) and in Mindanao (61%). The Constitution mandates that the 
State shall recognize, protect, promote and fulfill the rights of the indigenous 
peoples.
In 1997, Republic Act No. 8371 or the 'Indigenous Peoples Rights Act'(IPRA) 
was enacted into law fulfilling the State's constitutional duty to recognize the millions 
of Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) and Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in the 
country. However, despite the IPRA and the various international aids given to them, 
ICCs and IPs remain the most disadvantaged and the poorest in our country.
Geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs) still lack basic 
services. The 2010 Report on the State of the World by the United Nations reveal 
that ICCs and IPs "make up one-third o f the world's poorest peoples, suffer 
disproportionately in areas like health, education, and human rights, and regularly 
face systemic discrimination and exclusion." Government has to remedy the 
miserable conditions of our ICCs and IPs.
It is imperative to establish Resource Centers in all ICCs/IPs which are 
ethnographically located as determined by the National Commission on Indigenous 
Peoples (NCIP). These centers shall enhance the delivery of basic, social, technical 
and legal services to the ICCs and IPs.


Therefore, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
SONNY ANGARA


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
S E N  A T E  
S. B. No.
A T E
.706
of ilK f r f  .n ttir p
*19 JUL 23 P5 -M
REC!;!', tD  Sf.
Introduced by Senator SONNY ANGARA
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING 
RESOURCE 
CENTERS 
FOR 
INDIGENOUS 
CULTURAL 
COM M UNITIES/INDIGENOUS 
PEOPLES 
TO 
ENHANCE 
AND 
ENSURE 
DELIVERY OF ESSENTIAL SERVICES, APPRORIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House o f Representatives o f the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
1 
Section 1. Short Title. -  This Act shall be known as the "Resource Centers for
2 
Indigenous Peoples Act o f 2019."
3 
Sec. 2. Declaration o f Policy. -  It is hereby the policy of the State to provide
4 
Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs)/Indigenous Peoples (IPs) equal access to
5 
basic services and ensure protection of their rights, taking into consideration their
6 
customs, traditions, values and beliefs. Towards this end, there is a need to set up
7 
Resource Centers in all ethnographic regions to enhance the delivery of
8 
government's basic services and enable them to be recognized and counted and
9 
have freedom to engage in participatory development programs, projects and
10 
activities.
11 
Sec. 3. Establishment o f Resource Centers for ICCs/IPs. -  There shall be
12 
established ICCs/IPs Resource Centers, hereinafter referred to as the "Center", in
13 
strategic places as determined by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples
14 
(NCIP), hereinafter referred to as the "Commission", taking into consideration their
15 
ethnological locations.


1 
Sec. 4. Staff and Components o f the ICC/IP Resource Centers. -  The
2 
Commission shall designate in evet7 Center a Chief Coordinating Officer. Concerned
3 
government departments and agencies and local governments shall assign staff
4 
members to the Resource Centers.
5 
Sec. 5. 
Composition and Functions o f the Center. -  The Center shall be
6 
composed of the following three (3) major service areas and their respective
7 
functions, namely:
8 
(a) 
Statistical Service Area - documentation and recognition of ICCs/IPs, their
9 
indigenous knowledge, systems and practices, political structures and
10 
customary laws through census, appraisal and baseline reports and libraries;
11 
(b) 
Human Development Index Service Area - addresses problems of ICCs/IPs
12 
and provide basic and necessary services through link-up with concerned
13 
government department and agencies, such as training programs, grant of
14 
scholarships, employment, livelihood and enterprises and health services; and
15 
(c) 
Domains Management Service Area - promotion of participatory programs,
16 
projects and activities for ICCs/IPs to effectively deliver their responsibility of
17 
maintaining ecological balance, restore denuded areas, observe laws, and
18 
ensure 
the 
implementation 
of 
the 
Ancestral 
Domains 
Sustainable
19 
Development and Protections Plans and such other existing programs.
20 
Sec. 6. Monitoring Progress and Implementation and Impact o f this Act -  The
21 
Commission shall submit to Congress every three (3) years or as determined in the
22 
implementing rules and regulations, an annual report of its accomplishments.
23 
Sec. 7. Funding. -  The initial funding requirements for the implementation of
24 
this Act shall be charged against the current appropriations of the agencies
25 
concerned. 
Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for its continued
26 
implementation shall be included in the agencies' yearly budgets under the General
27 
Appropriations Act.
28 
Sec. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). -  Within ninety (90) days
29 
after the approval of this Act, the Commission, in coordination with the following
30 
concerned government agencies, to wit: Local Government Units (LGUs), Philippine
31 
Statistics Authority (PSA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD),
32 
Technical 
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of


1 
Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Commission on
2 
Human Rights (CHR), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Labor and
3 
Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of
4 
Health (DOH), 
Department of Environment and 
Natural 
Resources (DENR),
5 
Department of Agriculture (DA), Land Management Bureau (LMB), Land Registration
6 
Authority (LRA), and such other concerned agencies, shall issue the necessary Rules
7 
and Regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.
8 
Sec. 9. Separability Clause. -  If any portion or provision of this Act is
9 
subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional, other provisions hereof which are
10 
not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.
11 
Sec. 10. Repealing Clause. -  All other laws, acts, presidential decrees,
12 
executive orders, presidential proclamations, issuances, rules and regulations, or
13 
parts thereof which are contrary to or inconsistent with any of the provisions of this
14 
Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.
15 
Sec. 11. Effectivity. -  This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
16 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,