THE Department of Social Welfare and Development-Davao Region (DSWD-Davao) reported that it rescued a total of 152 Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in Davao City, composed of 87 adults and 65 children, mostly coming from Kapalong.
“Ongoing ang rescue sa atoang mga katung IPs na naa diri sa Davao together with the Local Government Unit of Davao as well as ang atoang street facilitators (The rescue for our IPs that are here in Davao is ongoing together with the Local Government Unit of Davao as well as our street facilitators),” Gemma D. Dela Cruz, chief of the Protection Services Division of DSWD-Davao, said during the Kapihan sa PIA on Friday morning, December 13, 2024, at NCCC Victoria Plaza.
Dela Cruz said the IPs rescued will receive food packs as they are waiting for the vehicles that will transport them back to their homes. She added that if their respective local government units would not pick them up, the agency would provide a shuttle to bring them home.
Dela Cruz added that the remaining IPs under their care are from Agusan and Surigao.
According to her, IPs coming to Davao City has decreased compared to last year. Evacuation areas in 2023 were full compared to the present where the evacuation area in Bunawan is not yet as crowded.
She attributed the decreasing exodus of IPs to the city to the intensified information dissemination efforts by all concerned agencies, explaining that they had visited the far-flung barangays to inform the IP communities of the risks they might face on city streets.
She highlighted the risks that IP members, especially the children, face if they go downtown and end up sleeping along the roads.
Dela Cruz expressed that the IPs coming to the city are primarily from the Badjao community in Zamboanga. She emphasized that barangays, where IPs are staying, should have them registered and be informed of how many days they plan to stay.
She said that together with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), they are crafting a plan to address the concerns regarding IPs coming to the city.
Meanwhile, in a report from the Davao City Police Office (DCPO), they have rescued around 405 members of the IPs as of December 13, 2024. Of that number, 287 are adults and 118 are minors. The rescue operation was conducted across the 19 police stations of the office in coordination with DSWD and the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO). The rescued IPs were brought to Balite Drive SIR, where their LGUs would pick them up.
DSWD stressed the importance of not giving money to the IPs when they are begging. Dela Cruz shared an example of one IP who had enough money to pay the down payment for a motorcycle. This made the other IPs realize they, too, could do the same, so they were enticed to come to the city to beg.
“Panawagan nato sa public na kung pwede dili nato sila hatagan ug cash kay this is one way of inviting other IPs na magbaba (We are calling for the public that they should not give any cash because this is one way of inviting other IPs that would go down here in the city),” she said.
Dela Cruz said that they had already communicated with the tribal chieftains of the IPs to inform their members of the risks of mendicancy and to monitor their activities.
Presidential Decree No. 1563, also known as the Mendicancy Law of 1978, aims to eradicate mendicancy in the Philippines by providing care for infants, children, and minors who beg along the streets. RGP
