𝗗𝗢𝗧, 𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗣 𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺

The Department of Tourism (DOT) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) forged a formal agreement Wednesday (Aug. 16) in a bid to create a strategic partnership between the two government bodies to support and implement the Katutubo-KAPWA project.

The Katutubo-KAPWA project is a nationwide initiative which will enjoin support for the indigenous cultural communities/indigenous peoples (ICCs/IPs) in tourism development, covering destinations and IP communities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was led by DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco and NCIP Chair Allen A. Capuyan, witnessed by Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Atty. Mae Elaine Bathan and NCIP Acting Bureau Director Glenda Pua at the DOT Central Office in Makati City.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘊𝘐𝘗 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮,” Secretary Frasco said.

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘊𝘐𝘗 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘊𝘐𝘗 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴,” she added.

With the DOT’s Office of Special Concerns (OSC) under the Office of the Secretary (OSEC) as lead, the Katutubo-KAPWA project also targets to address the gaps and needs of each destination such as the lack of tourism skills and competencies among IPs involved in tourism activities, and essential infrastructure, among others.

This is in line with the current administration’s thrust to diversify and equalize tourism product development, introduce multidimensional tourism, strengthen tourism governance through close collaboration with stakeholders, and improve the overall tourist experience.

A Technical Working Group (TWG) will also be created composed of representatives from DOT and NCIP to monitor and oversee its implementation.

The tourism chief likewise emphasized that the partnership is part of the current administration’s thrust toward reintroducing the Philippines to the world, with the ICCs/IPs as the starting point.

”𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦–𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦,” she said.

Meanwhile, NCIP Chair Capuyan said that they are grateful to the DOT for the said partnership.

“𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘣𝘰-𝘒𝘈𝘗𝘞𝘈 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵,” he said.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦,” he added.

Among the important commitments of the DOT from the partnership include the provision of financial support to tourism-related capacity building/capacity development, infrastructure projects, product development, and other tourism-related programs activities, and projects to eligible and interested ICCs/IPs that will help improve their socio-economic status as well as for the development and promotion of their ancestral domains; assistance and funding for the identified tourism-related projects of the ICCs/IPs for enterprise, livelihood, and jobs creation with the support of the DOT’s attached agencies to help reduce the country’s unemployment and alleviate poverty while boosting the tourism industry.

The DOT has also committed to providing assistance and promotional platforms for the products of the ICCs/IPs to attract tourists to patronize the local tourism economy.

Secretary Frasco emphasized the importance of striking a balance between heritage and promotion as a value proposition for tourism, thus, citing as well that the DOT is excited about embarking on the partnership by investing first in soft infrastructure for IPs who are also tourism frontliners.

Likewise, the NCIP identifies the DOT as a strong partner for the protection and promotion of arts and culture components of the country as a driver toward nation-building