THE National Commission on Indigenous Peoples-Davao Region (NCIP-Davao) announced that the recent budget cut under the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) will result in a reduction of scholars and a limitation of regional programs and events.
Lawyer Geroncio R. Aguio, NCIP-Davao's regional director, in an interview with SunStar Davao on January 9, 2024, explains that due to the budget cuts, their office must prioritize the remaining funds.
“Gina-prioritize lang tung unsay naay nabilin nga funds, ang scholar naa may nabilin wala man natanggal tanan (We’re prioritizing the remaining funds. There are still some scholars left; not everyone was removed),” he said.
Aguio also said that the office is reviewing how to allocate the remaining budget fairly among scholars. This may include implementing a grade requirement, and the office is still determining how many scholars will be retained and how many will be cut.
Aguio expressed concern about the impact of the budget reduction on both scholars and the programs they offer. He advised scholars to contact the NCIP-Davao focal person to learn if their scholarships were affected.
In the 2025 proposed budget, NCIP-Davao faced a P15 million cut, significantly impacting its services to Indigenous Communities (ICs).
Meanwhile, NCIP-Davao Oriental has announced the temporary suspension of the processing of new scholarship grantees. The office had planned to accept new applicants but will pause that process due to budget constraints.
“The budget cut will not hinder our office from continuing to serve the indigenous peoples of Davao Oriental despite the heartbreaking start of the year. We can only hope for your understanding,” NCIP-Davao Oriental shared on its Facebook post on January 8, 2025.
NCIP has experienced a significant budget cut of approximately P400 million in the 2025 GAA. The central office is conducting an agency-wide analysis to secure the status of existing grantees. RGP
