TARLAC CITY — About 4,055 Indigenous Peoples (IPs) households benefitted in the relief distribution of National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in Tarlac.
NCIP teamed up with government and non-governmental organizations and institutions to provide aid to IP households severely affected by the community quarantine due to the COVID-19 health crisis.
“Through the collaborative efforts of NCIP, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and various civil society groups, we were able to distribute relief goods to different barangays and sitios of the province,” NCIP Regional Director Ruben Bastero said.
Civil society groups who sponsored the assistance given to IP households include the Assisi Foundation, Kabalikat CiviCom and Ateneo de Manila University under their Project Liwanag.
“The Bamban Community Service Center, provincial government of Tarlac and different municipal governments likewise extended their support in ensuring that our IP communities receive government services,” Bastero added.
In addition, NCIP extended its operations during this pandemic by helping in determining and identifying beneficiaries in the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Emergency Subsidy Program.