NCIP staff to
director: Delay is injustice
BAGUIO
CITY – Indigenous peoples here urged the National Commission on Indigenous
Peoples to issue certificate of affirmation to duly selected indigenous peoples
mandatory representative to the city council here saying delaying it more would
be an injustice particularly to native folk of Baguio.
They said it’s been five months
already since Roger D. Sinot was elected as IP representative to the city
council, but until now, regional NCIP director Roland P. Calde has not issued
the certification.
Sinot,
an Ibaloi, is a former college professor, whose forefathers belonged to the
indigenous group of Baguio natives centuries ago.
He had also been at the
forefront of fighting for indigenous peoples rights like in addressing issue of
ancestral lands being grabbed by unscrupulous persons.
The Commission en banc headed by
NCIP Chairperson Leonor Kintayu who will hold a meeting here tomorrow (Monday) was
urged to act on the matter considering Calde had allegedly not been acting on
it.
A
special regional review body on indigenous peoples – Baguio city community
service center (NCIP Baguio CSC) upheld legality of Sinot’s election as IP
representative.
Calde created the review body
following protest from four personalities who said the process was irregular.
The
body found out the process in Sinot’s election followed rules and regulations
in conformity to government laws, NCIP guidelines and indigenous tradition.
Lawyer Harriet N. Abyadang,
regional NCIP OIC legal officer who also heads the government agency’s Baguio
office and all her staff wrote Calde in a letter dated March 7, 2017 confirming
“all processes in selection of Sinot were in order” contrary to allegations of
three or four personalities from the Kalanguya and Kankanaey tribes.
They said notices on selection
of IP representative and guidelines were posted in all city barangays,
published in a newspaper of general circulation since October 2016.
The same was also announced
through radio while letter invitations were personally delivered by members of
the council of elders/leaders of ancestral lands claimants.
Invitation letters containing
schedule of activities and request for an inspiration message were also sent to
Mayor Mauricio Domogan, the city council through Vice Mayor Edison Bilog, NCIP Ethnographic
Commissioner for Cordillera Administrative Region and Region 1 lawyer Basilio
Wandag and Calde as Cordillera NCIP director.
Abyadang and NCIP staff said
series of public consultations had also been held on the issue thus on Nov. 4,
2016, IPMR aspirant/nominees were identified: Jackson Chiday, Basilio Binay-an,
Phillip Canuto, Vicky Macay and Sinot.
Sinot
was later elected and proclaimed first IPMR for Baguio.
The
activity ended with a show of support by other aspirants with Sinot’s message
of gratitude and appeal for continued support.
From November 2016 to date it
was learned Calde still didn’t issue the certificate of affirmation so Sinot
could sit as member of the Baguio City Council.
This, despite a resolution of
Baguio Ancestral Land Claimants Executive Council of Elders received Feb. 5,
2017 by regional NCIP office urging Calde to issue the certificate saying
“guidelines in selection of the IPMR were already promulgated and the same
should be respected, upheld, observed and applied in the case.”
Elders said under section 7 of
guidelines, “only a losing, volunteer/ nominee can file a protest and that the
sole ground is “failure of the plenary session to observe and conduct the
plenary session according to customary consensus.”
Elders added the lone protest
was a violation of guidelines and should have been dismissed outright.”
Elders
who signed the resolution in favor of Sinot included former Tuba, Benguet mayor
Jose P. Baluda, former Dept. of Transportation and Communications Cordillera
regional director Isabelo Cosalan Sr. who also headed later the regional
National Telecommunications Commission, journalist David March L. Fianza,
Philip Canuto, Michael Alos, Margarita Dong-e, Marie S. Kitma, Pancho Alinos,
Jose Kani, Leilia Cuilan, Mario Vicente, Nheil S. Endrano and nominees Jackson
Chiday and Basilio Binay-an.
A copy of the resolution was
sent to the NCIP central office in Manila.
Following Sinot’s election,
protesters Paul B. Pasigon and Gaspar Cayat said they were not informed of the
selection process while lawyer Manuel Cuilan and Joselito Shontogan said there
were irregularities in the process.
This,
despite Cuilan having reportedly
attended drafting of guidelines and even acted as presiding officer.
In
the end Abyadang and NCIP staff in their letter told Calde “refusing to address
the issue is a mockery of a duly facilitated process in favor of a few
personalities” (protesters). “Refusing to address the issue is delaying and in
effect delaying the representation of ICCs/IPs to the City council of Baguio.”
The Cordillera Peoples’
Alliance, the largest indigenous organization in the Cordillera with members
worldwide had affirmed their support for Sinot.
Among other groups, the Autonomy
Movement in the Administrative Cordillera made also a letter of endorsement for
Sinot as IP representative.
It was signed by Bartolome Sacla
Jr., Benguet coordinator and Benedict L. Ballug, its president and national
coordinator.
The selection of the Baguio IP
representative came about after city councilor Art Allad-iw made a resolution
mandating inclusion of an IP representative in the city council as mandated by
law.
The city council ratified the
resolution.
This, as sources at the regional
NCIP office told the Northern Philippine Times Calde was in Manila at press
time and has not yet made a comment on the letter of Abyadang and staff urging
him to take action on the matter.
No comments:
Post a Comment