Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines: Continuing Struggle

Lack of access to basic social services, education, sustainable livelihood, farm-to-

market roads, and health services contribute to their continuing poverty. In many
cases, the onslaught of commercialism and modern culture came at the expense of
maintaining their own culture and tradition (and thus their identity).

Common problems include non-representation at all levels of society, lack of

education, poverty, and discrimination. Their struggles against development
aggression, which lead to loss of ancestral domain and self-determination as well as to
environmental destruction, are met with harassment and human rights violations,
including political killings.

Conclusion

Each indigenous community is different. But all indigenous communities

struggle for the right to self-determination and to their ancestral domain.
Pursuant to the stipulations of the 1987 Constitution, IPRA undertakes to
improve the situation of indigenous peoples. But laws, such as IPRA, have
to be effectively implemented in light of the existence of other laws that
violate the rights of indigenous peoples. Finally, the resolution of the
problems of the indigenous peoples relates to the elimination of the deep-
seated discrimination against them, a task that remains difficult to achieve.