Davao City, Davao del Sur – The Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 64, or the Bangsamoro Indigenous Peoples’ Act (BIPA) of 2024, enacted by the Bangsamoro Parliament on December 10, 2024, is a landmark legislation for the recognition, protection, and promotion of the Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples (NMIPs) rights in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), addressing long-standing challenges and promoting inclusive governance.
In support of this milestone, the Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) actively engages with key stakeholders in the BARMM by facilitating a series of policy dialogues and workshops to draft the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the BIPA. One such event was the recently held Collaborative Workshop on Drafting the IRR at the Pinnacle Hotel and Suites on March 26–27, 2025, where key stakeholders — including Indigenous Political Structures (IPS), Indigenous Peoples Organizations (IPOs), the academe, and civil society organizations (CSOs) — gathered to draft an IRR that safeguards the indigenous peoples’ rights, traditions, inclusive participation, and representation in the region.
Following the workshop, a turnover ceremony of the workshop’s output was held at Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) on March 27 – a date that also marks the 11th anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Officials from the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs (MIPA), the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), GIZ-SPADe (Strengthening the Implementation of Regional and Local Peace and Development Agendas in Mindanao), and AdDU were also present.
The Chairperson of the Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples Council (NMIPC) and former Member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament, Romeo Saliga, presented the workshop’s output to Judith Tinio, Ph.D., Director General of MIPA.
“This is what we can offer to ease the work of MIPA, to ensure that the rights of the indigenous people within the Bangsamoro are protected,” emphasized Romeo Saliga, Chairperson of NMIPC and former Member of the BTA Parliament.
Salient Points from the Workshop:
- Significant policies and provisions of the law, with the process following the framework of rights, responsibilities, and remedies. Using this lens, the workshop focused on the specific rights of the IPs as defined and elaborated in the law and the correlative responsibilities of the IPS as rights holder as well as the remedies available to them for its realization.
- Standards for the performance by the agencies mandated to implement specific provisions of BIPA to be inclusive, participatory, gender transformative, and culturally sensitive.
- Elaboration of the sequence of movements or actions required to complete the whole process of ancestral domain delineation, Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP) formulation, and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) among others. Hence, the process flow for such institutional mechanisms were developed to serve as guideposts defining the appropriate rules and regulations.
- The key institutional mechanisms as provided in BIPA to promote and protect the IPs right to governance, development, and representation were discussed with the end in view of identifying the operational mechanisms and standards of performance by the agencies concerned. These include among others, the Fusaka Inged Development Office (FIDO), Indigenous People Mandatory Representation, Indigenous Peoples Council (IPC), and representation of IP women and youth in various local bodies and government structures. The draft IRR will have to consider the mandate of other government agencies relevant to the functions of the said agencies under BIPA.
Next Steps: Drafting and Validation Process
A drafting committee composed of representatives from each IP group was created to refine the IRR. The draft will then be validated through a consultation meeting with the workshop participants. The final draft will be submitted to MIPA on April 30, 2025.
“The draft output demonstrates a deep understanding of complexities. I’d like to commend this product because it’s both legally sound and culturally sensitive. The MIPA is committed to working closely with all stakeholders, and the IRR is not only the work of one but the work of everybody,” stated Judith Tinio, Ph.D., Director General of MIPA.
This collaborative effort reflects the shared commitment of all stakeholders to ensure that the BIPA’s provisions translate into inclusive and meaningful change for the Bangsamoro Indigenous Peoples.
The activity was funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by GIZ in partnership with IID, Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, and Ateneo de Davao University.
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