The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) is extending assistance to the Ati community in Barangay Igcococ, Sibalom, to have a representative in their village council to ensure their needs as a cultural minority group are attended to.

Charlen Panaguiton, officer-in-charge of the NCIP Aklan-Antique Community Service Center, said in an interview Friday that they received a letter of intent (LOI) on June 14, 2024, from the Punong Barangay of Igcococ, also the tribal leader, for them to have an IP Mandatory Representative.

“Barangay Igcococ, an Ati settlement, has 751 Ati individual residents that they would like to have an IPMR who could represent them in their barangay council,” Panaguiton said.

The 751 Ati individuals belong to 175 households in Barangay Igcococ.

NCIP will hold an information and education campaign (IEC) next month for the Ati community on the importance of having IPMR.

The IEC is set after the 20-day posting of the LOI this month.

“If ever, there would already be an IPMR sitting at the barangay council, he would be the first in the province for the Ati community,” she said.

She added that the Iraynon Bukidnon IP community in the municipality of Valderrama has its own IPMR in the barangay and municipal councils working for programs and projects, including lobbying for educational and livelihood assistance.

She said that in Barangay Igcococ, the Ati community still has to establish their claim for the around 75 hectares of ancestral domain that could be prioritized when they have the IPMR.

Antique, which has 37,839 total IPs belonging to the Iraynon Bukidnon, Ati, and Cuyonin, joined the celebration of the National IP Day and International Day of the World’s IPs on Friday. (PNA)