CATBALOGAN, Samar - A validation of available data about indigenous peoples in Samar is now being conducted by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).
This was revealed by the NCIP Director Antonio Catolin when he visited this town recently.
According to Catolin, they are set to assess the condition of these indigenous peoples; identify as to what group they belong, their present locations and how many they are at present.
This activity, according to Catolin, will also provide an opportunity to develop linkages with local government units (LGUs) where the indigenous cultural communities are located.
Catolin told PIA that he learned of the presence of a group resembling the Negritos (with dark skin and kinky hair) in the interior town of San Jose de Buan here in Samar when he heard reports that they feared being caught in a crossfire as military men were scouring the area for rebels.
NCIP lost no time in locating San Jose de Buan Mayor Ananias Rebato who was just as glad to seek assistance from the commission.
On February 8, 2006, Regional Director Catolin brought with him goodies consisting of rice, canned goods and other eatables for the 22 families belonging to the Mamanwa tribe.
Mayor Rebato said the Manobo or Mamanwa are residing in Sitio Cahagichican, Hibacaan, San Jose de Buan, some 12 kms away from the town proper. He said they are engaged in farming, rattan gathering and mat weaving and that most of their children are in school. One Mamanwa is even a Barangay Kagawad, which he said is a proof that they have assimilated to the culture of the modern Samarnon.
Tribal leader Eleuterio Calinawan welcomed the foodpacks. He along with his group waited for NCIP guests in Barangay Calapi, an interior village of Motiong town, to receive the goodies and confer with the officials in charge. Mayor Rebato was represented by Municipal Social Welfare Officer Anna Cabacang.
Together with the distribution of the material gifts, Catolin likewise promised the Mamanwa group (Rebato calls them Manobo which he says is also what San Jose de Buan folks call them) that the government is bent on pushing for their rights. He added that the NCIP was created by virtue of RA 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 as the primary government agency that promotes and protects the rights of the Indigenous People (IP).
Since there is no NCIP office in Eastern Visayas, indigenous peoples in the region are being served by the nearest NCIP office, which is located in Cebu City.
