MANILA – The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) has facilitated the return to their respective homes of some 3,131 locally stranded indigenous people (LSIP) in June.
This was disclosed by NCIP commissioner Jennifer Pia Sibug-las during a live radio-TV interview on Sunday, June 28. She said most of these LSIP were from the Visayas and Mindanao for various reasons when the lockdown due to coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) was imposed in Metro Manila.
Sibug-as said this is under the commission’s Oplan Bayanihan for Stranded IP Program to locate and monitor LSIP in big cities and to assist them in whatever possible way. “Patuloy kaming tumutulong at nagmonitor sa mga IPs na nastranded sa Metro Manila upang makauwi sa kanilang respective localities,” (We are continuing to help and to monitor IPs who are stranded in MM so that they can go home to their respective localities), she said.
Majority of those stranded are female overseas Filipino workers and work applicants who missed their flights Some are workers who are under the no-work, no-pay policy. “Ang mga LSIP ay mga katutubo na mga estudyante na hindi nakauwi sa kanilang mga sariling lugar at tahanan, pangalawa naman ang mga mangagawa na walang trabaho sa ECQ dahil sa no-work, no-pay na polisiya, at ang mga pangatlo at ang pinakamarami ay ang mga OFW applicants, karamihan mga kababa-ihan na na-cancel ang kanilang fights dahil sa lockdown,” she continued.
(The LSIP are the indigenous peoples like students who have not returned to their place of origin and homes, the second are the workers who have no work during the ECQ because of the no-work, no pay policy, and the third and majority are female OFW applicants whose flights were cancelled because of the lockdown).
Sabug-as also revealed that they relied on the social media for contacting. Their office also faced a lot of challenges particularly because most of LSIP have not received the Social Amelioration Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and other agencies of government. But NCIP acknowledged the help of different government agencies and private business entities for helping them in facilitating the return of LSIP to their homes. “Mas madali ang transportasyon sa north ngunit mas mahirap sa pagpadala sa kanila sa Visayas at Mindanao,” she confessed. (It is easier to transport those stranded from the north, but hard for those from Visayas and Mindanao).
“I just want to assure the IPs that NCIP is always ready to help them during this time of the pandemic,” she continued.
