PRESIDENTIAL Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza announced Wednesday, March 7, the creation of a task force that will address key concerns of the indigenous peoples (IP) and, ultimately, resolve ancestral domain issues and other root causes of insurgency.
In a speech during the Sitio and Governor’s Day celebration in South Cotabato, Dureza said the task force will be created through an executive order.
Another executive order has also been proposed to "provide full recognition and protection of the IP’s rights and welfare across the country."
In a statement posted on the website of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Dureza noted that three out of four, or 75 percent, of the communist rebels are IP or Lumads.
“President Rodrigo Duterte is looking at ways in which you (Lumads) will not be forgotten,” he said.
Dureza said the proposal to create the task force was presented to President Duterte during the Cabinet meeting in Malacañang.
It will be headed by retired Col. Allen Capuyan, who is a Manobo.
“The President emphasized the need for greater convergence among national government line agencies on IP concerns,” Dureza said. (SunStar Philippines)