MOUNTAIN PROVINCE

Sagada execs create tribal rights law
BY GINA DIZON

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- Indigenous peoples rights is a special provision in the newly legislated gender code of this tourist town and with this, the local government shall recognize right of the people to preserve and protect their culture and institutions and consider these rights in the application of government plans and policies.

Consistent with the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, Sagada’s Gender Code recently passed on third reading by outgoing local government officials, stipulated the municipal government shall protect the ownership and possession of the people of Sagada on their ancestral domains.

“The provision on indigenous peoples rights in the gender code is important considering that the people of Sagada are members of indigenous communities,” said Florence Umaming, consultant on gender and indigenous peoples rights and a native of Sagada.

Umaming helped frame provisions of the gender code with local government offices: Dept. of Social Welfare and Development, Sangguniang Bayan, Philippine National Police, and respective offices of the legal, planning and development and health.

On governance, the code provided the municipal government shall promote and protect the rights of the people of Sagada to apply their traditional justice systems and as may be compatible with national and international laws.

The municipal government shall recognize the vital role of indigenous leadership that emerges from the dynamics of customary law and practices.

The code provides the municipal government shall establish mechanisms to mainstream gender concerns and to maximize partnership in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of development programs related to the gender code.

The newly passed gender code provides items on basic health services, family planning, education and training, labor and employment, governance, social justice and human rights, and support services.

An integrated gender-sensitive and environmental-friendly municipal zoning plan shall consider identified needs and problems on ensuring a gender-friendly community.

Also, provisions on education and training provisions include partnerships with government and private schools, legal functional literacy, gender and cultural studies, popularization of gender-fair and culture sensitive materials, capacity building activities, special education to differently-abled persons and access to appropriate and sustainable agro-technology.

Support services include the declaration and observance of gender and development month of March, international women’s day on March 8, anti-child trafficking day on Dec. 12; and establishment of a women and children’s complaint desks and a crisis intervention center.

The Municipal Development Council shall create the Sagada Interagency Council against trafficking and violence against women and children composed of concerned government agencies, non-government organizations, barangay- based peoples organizations and other concerned sectors of society.

The SIACAT- VAWC, shall prepare a municipal plan, act as municipal media monitoring board, undertake advocacy, and education and monitor the strict implementation of laws.

The law-mandated 5 percent appropriation from the annual budget of local government units shall be considered in the planning of gender-related programs.

The code also provides that any person who violates the rules of the code shall be penalized by a 15-day imprisonment or P5,000 fine or both. Any license, permit or authority issued by any government agency for the practice of their profession shall, upon the recommendation of the SIACAT-VAWC be suspended or revoked of their license.

Only Sagada has a gender code among the local government units of Mountain Province .

An earlier ordinance providing for child survival, protection, and establishing a comprehensive support system was enacted by the local government unit September last year.