DAVAO CITY – Mayor Rodrigo Duterte signed Thursday an executive order to create a technical working group to help in the selection process of an indigenous people’s mandatory representative to the City Council.
Duterte signed Executive Order 05 Series of 2015 or “An Order Creating the Technical Working Group Tasked to Develop the Process and Mechanism for the Selection of the Mandatory Representative of the Indigenous Peoples to the Sangguniang Panglunsod Of Davao City” March 12.
Section 2 of the EO said the function of the TWG is to “re-evaluate, [strengthen], and develop process and mechanism for the selection of the mandatory representatives of Indigenous Peoples to the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Davao City for approval.”
The EO cited Republic Act 7106 or the Local Government Code of 1991, Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997 as basis of a sectoral and IPs representation in all policy-making bodies and local legislative councils.
It also cited as basis Section 6, Rule IV of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Order Number 1 Series of 1998, and Memorandum Circular Number 2010-119 of the Department of Interior and Local Government.
Meanwhile, the EO also said City Government of Davao Ordinance Number 0448-10 “providing for mandatory representation to the Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council) of the six (6) major IPs within it territory.”
The Ordinance identified the six major IPs in Davao City as Ata, Kalagan, Matigsalog, Tagabawa and Ubo Manubo and also mandated the City Mayor to create a TWG.
Recently, the City Council asked Duterte to re-convene the TWG in a resolution amid a controversy in the selection process of the City’s second IPMR.
The incumbent IPMR Berino Mambo-o ended his term January and was supposedly set to turn over his post to a member of the Kagan tribe.
However, the selection process of the Kagan failed after their local guidelines was not followed.
The Kagan guideline required that members of the Baraguwas or the Kagan Council of the 37 respective Jemaah or territories would hold an exclusive caucus witnessed by the Kagan community and the public to pick their representative.
However, the Davao NCIP Office “failed to observe the guidelines” and made the selection process by secret balloting.
The NCIP Regional Office also said that the supposed winner of the process, Halila Sudagar, lacked documentary requirements.
The regional office also ordered another round of selection process for the Davao NCIP to conduct, the deadline of which should have been March 3 of this year.
Duterte himself expressed that he is not in favor of Sudagar as she already previously served as a Sangguniang Kabataan representative of the City.
Based on the EO, the Mayor will sit as the Chaiperson of the TWG, the Vice-Mayor as the Vice-chairperson.
The members of the TWG will be the Chairperson of the City Council’s Committee on Civic, Political and Human Rights and Committee on Cultural Communities and Muslim Affairs, the City Administrator, the City Legal Officer and the City Planning and Development Officer.
Also members are regional directors or duly authorized representatives of the NCIP and the DILG and one representative each from Davao City’s six major tribes. (davaotoday.com)
