Marcos orders transfer of NCIP to OP

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has issued an order transferring the supervision of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to the Office of the President (OP).

Executive Order 71 noted that the move is consistent with the government’s policy “to further promote and recognize the rights” of indigenous cultural communities and indigenous peoples “within the framework of national unity and development.”

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin signed the order on Oct. 22, by the authority of the President.

The NCIP is responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies and programs to promote and protect the rights and well-being of indigenous peoples, including the recognition of their ancestral domains.

EO 71 repealed EO 67 issued in 2018, which placed the NCIP under the DSWD.

It also cited EO 72 signed in 2002, which provides that an agency shall be placed under or attached to the OP “only if its mandate or functional concerns require the immediate attention of the President.”

Proclamation 1906, issued in 2009, declared the month of October as National Indigenous Peoples Month. Proclamation 486 declared Oct. 29 as National Indigenous Peoples Thanksgiving Day.