PIA Press Release
Monday, January 30, 2012

NCIP joins 4Ps planning workshop in Baguio city

BAGUIO CITY, Jan. 30 (PIA)-- The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program also known as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program(4Ps) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) ensures that the rights and welfare of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) are protected and upheld in its implementation particularly among cultural communities such as the Cordillera region.

The National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) recently joined the orientation and planning workshop on the Indigenous People’s Agenda under the DSWD-led Pantawid Pamilya.

DSWD Cordillera regional director Leonardo Reynoso described the partnership as a milestone in making poverty reduction a personal concern among IP beneficiaries.

NCIP officials are expected to become members of the Regional and Provincial Advisory Committees composed of line agencies and local chief executives that oversee the implementation of the program in various levels to ensure that IP concerns are also addressed, Reynoso said.

He said that as an agency committed to serve the IP community, the NCIP will be of big help in providing technical assistance and strategy not only for the 4Ps but also for other poverty reduction programs such as the Kalahi-CIDSS and the Sustainable Livelihood.

The NCIP Cordillera regional director Sancho Buquing has expressed support to the 4Ps particularly in monitoring the program, validation and verification of program documents, addressing grievances and joining community assemblies.

Data shows that some 20,458 of the 25,065 beneficiary households are members of IP groups. There are 14 major ethno-linguistic groups in the Cordillera Administrative Region making it a cultural haven. *(JDP/JBZ PIA)