MikeLigalig.com

House Bill 1460 or the Ethnic Origin Act of 2010, asking for the inclusion of statistics of indigenous cultural groups in the national census, has passed the third reading in the House of Representatives.

Palawan 2nd District Rep. Dennis M. Socrates, who co-authored HB 1460, said that government, until this time, has no accurate and reliable data on the number of indigenous people (IP) in the country. Through the House Bill, he said the Philippine government will have a data base on the IP’s origin, dialect, and other pertinent information.

If passed, he said the Bill will direct the National Statistics Office (NSO) to cooperate and coordinate with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) and the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) to conduct a special survey to get the information that the government needs.

“If we have the correct data we need about our indigenous people, we can easily plan and implement programs and projects, as well as other initiatives for them to improve their lives,” Socrates said. (PNA)