DAR, NCIP hold FPIC consultation for VISTA project in Kalinga

TABUK CITY, Philippines — The Department of Agrarian Reform Provincial Office–Kalinga (DARPO–Kalinga), working with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)–Kalinga, conducted a Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) consultation on Jan. 27 inside the ancestral domain of Biga covering Barangays Amlao, Suyang and parts of Barangay Balawag (Paligato).

About 70 participants attended the consultation, including tribal elders, community leaders, Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representatives (IPMRs), women and youth representatives, barangay officials and other residents.

The activity sought the consent of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) for the proposed Value Chain Innovation for Sustainable Transformation in Agrarian Reform Communities (VISTA) Project.

Barangay Captain John I. Wansi of Suyang led the opening invocation and welcomed participants, stressing the importance of consultations in ancestral domains.

DAR representatives, introduced by Jennilyn D. Pecsoy, presented the VISTA Project team and emphasized the agency’s commitment to inclusive governance, particularly the participation of Indigenous Peoples, women and youth.

Senior Agrarian Reform Program Technologist and SECAP Coordinator Jerry Angngalao said the VISTA Project is a six-year, IFAD-funded initiative focused on natural resources management and agroforestry.

He said project interventions include reforestation and the cultivation of coffee, cacao and other high-value crops, adding that implementation would proceed only after community consent is secured through the FPIC process.

NCIP Community Development Officer III Welmer Bumosao outlined the FPIC process and the commission’s mandate to protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

He said community decisions would be documented through a Resolution of Consent and a Memorandum of Agreement.

During the open forum, elders and community members raised concerns over land eligibility, access roads, boundary issues and the inclusion of distant farm areas.

Representatives from DAR and NCIP responded to the issues during the discussion.

Following the consultation, validation teams were deployed to assess proposed beneficiary areas in the covered barangays.

DARPO–Kalinga officials said the validation aims to ensure that areas included in the project meet agreed criteria and reflect community decisions.

The FPIC activity underscored the role of consultation and consent in development planning within ancestral domains and laid the groundwork for the possible implementation of the VISTA Project in Tabuk City.