MALOLOS CITY (PIA) — The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) has allotted P20 million as development fund for indigenous peoples (IPs) communities in Bulacan.
In particular, recipients belong to the Kabayunan Ancestral Domain of the Dumagats which covers Sitio Dike, Barangay San Lorenzo; and Sitio Ipo, Barangay San Mateo in Norzagaray; and Sitios Basyo, Macua/Malot, Anuling, Maputi, Iyak, and Pinag-anakan in Barangay Kabayunan in Doña Remedios Trinidad.
National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Bulacan Chief Regina Panlilio disclosed that two out of the planned eight tribal halls as well as a bunkhouse are undergoing construction.
“The initial tribal halls, located in Sitios Anuling and Macua/Malot, will serve as Ancestral Domain Management Offices while the bunkhouse being constructed near the Angat Watershed Area Team compound will serve as a transient house for IP students,” Panlilio disclosed.
Construction began last March 2024 and the projects will be completed by July this year.
In September 2021, MWSS turned over the P20-million development fund to the Indigenous Bulos Kabulowen Community Association of Bulacan (IBKCAB) which implements projects for the Kabayunan IP communities.
The development fund is a component from the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent Process of the MWSS Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project – Construction of Tunnel No. 4 that was funded by the Asian Development Bank.
Since then, a total of 13 motorcycles with kolong-kolong or open sidecar, and three multipurpose vehicles were turned over to the IP communities.
In 2022, the IP communities received 160 units of 110-watt solar panels; 12 motorized bancas worth P108,000; health assistance worth P12,000; and educational assistance worth P33,000.
On behalf of the recipients, IBKCAB President Rodolfo Aquino thanked the government for the provision of a development fund so that they can properly utilize their ancestral lands.
The motorcycles with kolong-kolong and the multipurpose vehicles are used to ferry Dumagat students going to school, as transportation of their harvests to the market, and service vehicles during emergencies.(CLJD/VFC, PIA Region 3-Bulacan)
