Persevering the rights of Indigenous individuals in the Philippines

 Draft 3/Blog Post No. 3: Celebrating Indigenous Peoples Month and the 27th Year of IPRA: Honoring Knowledge and Protecting Rights

This October marks National Indigenous Peoples Month in the Philippines, a celebration of the rich tapestry of cultures and traditions making up our nation's indigenous communities. As presented this year, the indigenous people celebrate the 27th Anniversary of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA). Such is held under the theme "Mga Katutubo at Katutubong Dunong: Pahalagahan, Pangalagaan at Parangalana" or Valuing, Nurturing, and Honoring Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous Knowledge. This thematic thrust recognizes the importance in valuing, nurturing and honoring the knowledge systems developed over generations of the country's Indigenous Peoples.

This will then be a very important role played by the celebration for National Indigenous Peoples Month in promoting and protecting the rights and culture of Indigenous Peoples in the following ways:

1. Building awareness and empathy: We build off of the celebration to promote stories, struggles, and achievements for Indigenous Peoples. It is with such amplified awareness that we challenge stereotypes and prejudices, and help to empower the larger Filipino audience to be empathetic toward these groups.

2. Amplifying Indigenous Voices: National Indigenous Peoples Month creates an avenue for Indigenous peoples to air their views and concerns and aspirations. For this reason, their perspectives are heard in policy directions, decision-making processes and public discourse. His active participation is important so that the IPRA along with other laws that govern their rights can be operationalized effectively.

3. Preservation and Development of the

Indigenous Culture: Throughout this month-long celebration, there are various events, exhibitions, and education programs conducted in diverse ways to highlight the strong cultural heritage of Indigenous Peoples. These help maintain and pass on the intangible knowledge, skills, and artistic expressions for further generations. The culture is preserved and nurtured by celebrating and advocating their practices. Such culture will achieve long term survival and prosperity in the end

4. IPRA staying power: The IPRA anniversary reminds us of the importance of the law, and it remains relevant today in the contemporary period if its implementation is to be robust. It is also emphasized that there has to be a compelling exercise of enforcing the rights afforded under the law, among others the right of the Indigenous Peoples to their ancestral domains, right to self-determination and right to preserve culture.

Reference

Http://www.blogger.com

https://ph-eiti.dof.gov.ph/ncip.html

https://ncip.gov.ph/cropped-ncip_logo_001_100reso-1-png/

https://www.bulatlat.com/2016/10/16/unjust-indigenous-peoples-marching-philippines/