BTA Parliament unanimously approves Indigenous Peoples Act

Mindanews in a report Tuesday said that under the law, BIPA recognizes the IP’s ownership over their ownership of their ancestral domains, referred to as fusaka ingëd, and natural resources in these territories.

MP Ramon Piang, Chair of the committee on Indigenous Peoples affairs in a press release said that the BIPA is an enhanced version of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act, “specifically designed to meet the unique needs of the Bangsamoro’s indigenous population.”

The non-Moro IPs in the region is composed of Téduray, Lambangian, Dulangan Manobo, Erumanun Ne Menuvu, Higaonon, B’laan, and the Badjao, Sama Dilaut, Jama Mapun, Sama Bangingi, and Sama Pangutaran in the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.