THE House Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples chaired by Rep. Allen Jesse Mangaoang on Monday approved the committee report and substitute measure to House Bill (HB) 6713 mandating the grant of death and burial benefits to mandatory representatives of Indigenous Peoples (IPs).
HB 6713 author Rep. Edwin Olivarez (1st District, Paranaque City) explained that his bill operates on the principles of “equal pay for equal work,” equity and social justice.
According to him, mandatory representatives of IPs participate in local legislation and policy-making, adding that the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act provides that IPs involved in policy-making and legislation at the local level shall have the same benefits as regular members, including the death benefits barangay officials are entitled to under RA 7160 or the Local Government Code.
Mangaoang said the panel revised Olivarez’s bill, which was originally limited to IP representatives only at the barangay level. In the substitute bill, death benefits are granted to IP representatives up to the provincial level.
The substitute bill to HB 6713 also accords IP representatives the same political status as their regularly elected counterparts, institutionalizes programs granting cash benefits and financial support to the beneficiaries of IP representatives who died in service, among others.
The committee also agreed to consolidate and approve HBs 9683 and 9768 entitled “Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran ng Kababayang Katutubo Act” authored by ANG PROBINSYANO Party-list Rep. Alfred Delos Santos.
Mangaoang explained HBs 9683 and 9768 will institutionalize the ongoing program of the Department of Agriculture aimed at developing the agricultural potentials of ancestral domains.
The lawmaker considered the move as a big step in improving the lives of IPs nationwide and contribute greatly to achieving food security.
Mangaoang thanked Olivarez and Delos Santos for authoring the said measures despite not being members of the committee and also not being members of any indigenous cultural community/indigenous peoples (ICC/IP).
Representatives from the National Commission of Senior Citizens, National Council on Disability Affairs, and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, all expressed support for the bills.
