The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) is the agency of the national government of the Philippines that is responsible for protecting the rights of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines. The commission is composed of seven commissioners. It is attached to the Office of the Cabinet Secretary.
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History
The commission began as the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes created by the Insular Government during the American Colonial Period of the Philippines. It then became an independent agency called the Commission on National Integration (CNI). In 1972, then-president Ferdinand Marcos split CNI into the Southern Philippine Development Authority (SPDA) and the Presidential Assistance on National Minorities (PANAMIN). In 1984, Marcos created the Office of Muslim Affairs and Cultural Communities (OMACC) to assist both Muslim and non-Muslim minorities.
In January 1987, Pres. Cory Aquino's administration abolished the OMACC and through three Executive Orders created the Office for the Muslim Affairs (OMA), the Office for Northern Cultural Communities (ONCC), and the Office for Southern Cultural Communities (OSCC).
In 1997, the Republic Act 8371 or Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997 merged the latter two offices, the Office for Northern Cultural Communities and Office for Southern Cultural Communities into current commission.
Criticism
In 2011, the commission was criticized after it made a meeting with indigenous Mangyan communities in Mindoro, where the commission was pushing for the removal of the indigenous Mangyans from their ancestral domains for the benefit of a multi-national mining company. The Mangyan walked out of the meeting, sparking outrage from the top officers of the commission.