CITY OF SAN FERNANDO---A total of P20-million has been allotted as development fund for indigenous people (IP) communities in Bulacan province.
The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) made the allotment for IPs belonging to the Kabayunan Ancestral Domain of the Dumagats.
The program covers Sitio Dike, Barangay San Lorenzo; and Sitio Ipo, Barangay San Mateo in Norzagaray; and Sitios Basyo, Macua/Malot, Anuling, Maputi, Iyak, and Pinag-anakan in Barangay Kabayunan in Doña Remedios Trinidad.
The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) said that two out of the proposed eight tribal halls and bunkhouse are undergoing construction.
These two projects, which started last March 2024, will be completed by July this year.
The initial tribal halls, located in Sitios Anuling and Macua/Malot, will serve as Ancestral Domain Management Offices while the bunkhouse being constructed near the Angat Watershed Area Team compound will serve as a transient house for IP students.
In September 2021, MWSS turned over the P20-million development fund to the Indigenous Bulos Kabulowen Community Association of Bulacan (IBKCAB), which implements projects for the Kabayunan IP communities.
The development fund is a component from the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent Process of the MWSS Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project – Construction of Tunnel No. 4 that was funded by the Asian Development Bank.
A total of 13 motorcycles with kolong-kolong and three multipurpose vehicles were turned over to the IP communities.
The motorcycles with kolong-kolong and the multipurpose vehicles are used to ferry Dumagat students who are going to school.
These vehicles also serve as transportation of their harvests to the market, and service vehicles during emergencies.
In 2022, the IP communities received 160 units of 110-watt solar panels; 12 motorized bancas worth P108,000; health assistance worth P12,000; and educational assistance worth P33,000.