DAVAO CITY–Vice Mayor Bernard Al-ag said Wednesday the delayed certification for selected Indigenous People Mandatory Representative (IPMR) to the City Council has deprived the city’s indigenous group, the Bagobo-Klata tribe, of representation to the lawmaking body.
Al-ag said he has already called the attention of the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) to fast-track the issuance of certificate of affirmation for Cherry Ann Codilla, the chosen IPMR of the tribe.
To his dismay, however, the vice mayor said NCIP-11 (Davao) responded that Codilla’s certification remains on hold because of some problems, such as her fluency of the tribe’s dialect, bloodline, and track record of service.
Al-ag found the reasons cited by NCIP unjustifiable, noting that Codilla has already undergone a series of validation process before she was selected and proclaimed as the tribe’s IPMR for the City Council last March.
He said NCIP’s dilly-dallying has disadvantaged the IP sector in the city, depriving them of “the services supposed to be given to them.”
Al-ag pointed out that Codilla is a member of her tribe’s own Tribal Council in Barangay Biao Guianga, her mother being a deputy mayor representing the Bagobo-Klata in the city.
He said the City Council has already reached out to NCIP-11 Regional Director Geroncio Aguio, but to no avail.
If no action is taken on Codilla’s assumption to the City Council, Al-ag warned that he would be constrained to bring the matter to the legislative body, or to the Office of the President.
For her part, Codilla said she has already complied with the requirements of the NCIP, such as her family’s genealogy and service track record. (Armando Fenequito, Jr./PNA)
