Preservation of traditional landmarks to be pushed

THE Committee on Cultural Communities and Muslim Affairs is set to recommend on Tuesday, February 13, for second reading a resolution/ordinance promoting the preservation, recognition and protection of the recognized traditional landmarks, sacred sites, and burial grounds of the indigenous cultural communities of Davao City.

Based on the draft of the committee report, four committee hearings were done for the item last April 4, 2017, May 22, 2017, December 3, 2017, and January 22, 2018.

During these committee hearings representatives from different tribes of Davao City were invited as well as guests from Department of Environment and Natural Resources, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and Davao City Tourism Office to formulate the policies for the resolution.

The report read that the representative of the NCIP submitted a detailed report of the Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSPP) of the Matigsalug, Manobo, Obu Manuvu, Ata, and BagoboKlata

The group consolidated different provisions of ASDPP of the different tribes and came up with the basic guidelines and minimum requirements for the protection of the traditional landmarks, sacred sites and burial grounds of the respective IP groups.

Each tribe has different guidelines which are to be approved in today's session.

During the Indigenous Peoples Summit in 2017, many tribal leaders have expressed their desire to recognize their means and ways of protecting the sanctity of the traditional landmarks, sacred sites and burial ground found in their respective ancestral domains.

The committee report will be read on Tuesday by cultural communities and Muslims affairs chair Bai Halila Sudagar.