SUPPORT TO IP LEADERS. Datu Rico Maca (right), the Indigenous People Mandatory Representative (IPMR) of San Miguel, and Datu Jimmy Guinsod, the provincial IPMR of Surigao del Sur, join other tribal leaders in the country during the deliberations on House Bill 6713 that mandates the provision of death and burial assistance for the IPRMs. The tribal leaders welcomed the approval of the measure at the Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples in the Lower House. (Photo courtesy of Datu Rico Maca)
BUTUAN CITY – Two indigenous people (IP) leaders in Surigao del Sur have expressed support for the legislative measure at the House of Representatives that seeks to provide death and burial benefits for the IP Mandatory Representatives (IPMRs) in the country.
The House Bill (HB) 6713 was introduced by Rep. Edwin Olivares of the 1st District of Parañaque City in December last year.
It was approved by the Committee on Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples on Wednesday.
“We welcome the approval of HB 6713 at the committee level, and we are hopeful for the passage of this measure into a law,” said Datu Rico Maca, the IPMR of San Miguel, Surigao del Sur, in an interview on Thursday.
Maca was joined by Datu Jimmy Guinsod, the provincial IPMR of Surigao del Sur, and several IP leaders from other parts of the country during the committee deliberations of the measure at the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
“The IPMRs face difficult tasks, and often their lives are in danger, in protecting our ancestral lands and communities,” Maca pointed out.
He added that the original version of the measure only included the barangay-level IPMRs, however, revisions were later introduced to cover all of the IPMRs in the country, including the municipal and provincial levels.
“The measure also adopted the suggestion made by the National Commission on Indigenous People to confer eligibility to the IPMRs in the country,” Maca said. (PNA)
