DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/25 March) – After a delay of over two months, a new Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR), a Bagobo-Klata, has been chosen to represent the 11 ethnolinguistic groups of Davao City in the city council.
The city council welcomed Tuesday Datu Pagdatua Demetrio “Datu Metring” B. Bolo Sr., replacing Rodolfo M. Mande, a Matigsalug whose term ended on March 11.
Mande’s term was supposed to end on January 10. However, he filed for a holdover status with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)-Davao Region to continue serving until the selection of his successor.
Bolo was chosen as IPMR on May 23, 2019, but the NCIP did not confirm him as such, leaving the seat vacant for about three years until Mande obtained the position in 2022.
The original Bagobo-Klata representative was Bai Cherry Codilla, but the NCIP did not issue a certificate of affirmation for lack of genealogical qualifications.
Codilla was initially chosen by the Bago Klata-tribe to replace Halila Sudagar, whose term ended in May 2018.
After the NCIP did not affirm Codilla, Sudagar was temporarily reinstated. She later stepped down to run for city councilor but lost, leaving the IPMR seat vacant since 2019.
A second selection process was held where Bolo was chosen as IPMR, but he was never officially confirmed.
As an IPMR, Bolo said he has yet to ask his constituents what laws he should push for, but added it should include the protection of their ancestral domain and more budget for each tribe to enable them to meet their needs.
“The tribal chieftains have no salaries, they’re in a pitiful condition, so we will find ways to help them,” he told reporters in Cebuano at the sidelines of the city council session Tuesday morning.
He said he is keen on continuing pending projects of previous IPMRs, if it’s possible and if needed by the indigenous peoples.
During his term, Mande initiated ordinances like the institutionalization of scholarships for IP students and the establishment of an IP Shelter at the Southern Philippines Medical Center.
Leaders from the 11 Lumad and Moro tribes of the city – Ata, Bagobo-Klata, Bagobo-Tagabawa, Obu Manuvu, Matigsalug, Tausug, Sama, Iranun, Maguindanaoan, Maranao, and Kagan — are chosen as IPMRs on a rotational basis.
Section 16 of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act provides for mandatory representation of IPs in policy-making bodies and other local legislative councils. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)
0 Comments