The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has started its Inter-Agency National Indigenous Peoples (IPs) Birth Registration Special Project with the DILG, NCIP, and PSA, to roll out the project ensuring the birth registration of Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines.

“This project will not only include Indigenous Peoples in the national registry of birth but will likewise pave the way for inclusion towards building and fostering relationships between their community and the government,” said DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo. 

The DSWD and its partner agencies are geared towards “bringing birth registration closer to IPs and ICCs in the different parts of the country,” and increasing civil registration, particularly from “Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs), Muslim Filipinos, and vulnerable sectors.”

“This undertaking will benefit our IP brothers and sisters on an equal footing from the opportunities and privileges granted by national laws and regulations to other segments of the population,” added Tulfo. 

Through the birth registration project, members of ICCs in the country will be provided birth certificates to help them access social services. 

The agencies also vowed to promote the well-being of the Indigenous Peoples through “inclusive, culture-sensitive, and relevant policies, programs, and services” for their sector.