By JL Balagot
Hataman said that he backs the struggle of the Indigenous Peoples in ARMM not only because he is the Regional Governor and that it is part of his mandate but also because it has been his advocacy eversince he was in Congress representing the Anak Mindanao Party-list in which he successfully ended a three-term stint.
In his speech, Gov. Hataman emphasized that today is the fourth time that he joined a dialogue regarding the IPs. He even urged the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to organize and set up the NCIP-ARMM so that the plans and programs for IPs will be kickstarted as soon as possible. Moreover, he vowed to provide an office space within the Office of the Regional Governor (ORG) Compound.
"I want to protect the Indigenous Peoples because aside from it is the mandate of the Regional Government, bilang isang Moro, if you look at the national setting, minority rin ako, so naiintindihan ko ang sitwasyon ninyo."
According to the briefer provided by the IPDEV, Indigenous Peoples in ARMM consist of 122,914 individuals from 21 tribal affiliations residing in the 12 municipalities in the Bangsamoro Core Territory.
Hataman said he envisions that the struggle of the Indigenous Peoples in ARMM on their ancestral domain will end before he steps down as Regional Governor and gives way to the upcoming Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).