Cam Norte IPs avail of Serbisyo Caravan

LEGAZPI CITY -- At least 700 indigenous peoples (IPs) availed of different services offered by the government through Serbisyo Caravan held in Labo, Camarines Norte last Friday.

National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) regional director Lee Arroyo said highlight of the event was the awarding of the certificate of ancestral domain title (CADT) covering 22.4 hectares of land for the IP community in Jose Panganiban town.

“Sa kanila na po ito, rehistrado na po ito at kung anong proyekto ang nais nilang isakatuparan sa loob [ng lupang ito] sa tulong ng lahat ng mga ahensya (They own it now, it is already registered and whatever projects they want to implement in here through the different agencies),” Arroyo said in a media interview.

“At kami ay andiyan lang para mag-help facilitate at tumulong sa kanila para mapaunlad ang kanilang ancestral domain na ngayon ay titulado na. (And we will be here to help them facilitate the development of their ancestral domain which has now titles),” she added.

Arroyo explained that CADT is not privately but communally-owned and can only be handed down from generation to generation.

Arroyo said this is part of the intensified implementation of the programs of the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) or Task Force Katuninongan asin Kauswagan created under Executive Order 70 (EO 70) which institutionalizes the whole-of-nation approach in attaining inclusive and sustainable peace. (by Connie Calipay)