The Department of Social Welfare and Development welcomed the transfer of the administrative supervision of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples to the Office of the President.
“The DSWD poses no objection to the recommendation to transfer the NCIP to the Office of the President as the said agency was originally created under the OP by virtue of Republic Act No. 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act,” DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin signed Executive Order No. 71 ordering the transfer of NCIP observation to the OP on Oct. 22, 2024.
Prior to the issuance of EO No. 71, the NCIP was one of three supervised agencies of the DSWD, along with the National Anti-Poverty Commission and the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor.
“With the encompassing mandate of the NCIP, the DSWD is of the opinion that its transfer to the OP is imperative to effectively implement RA No. 8371, including those functions that are connected or intertwined with the roles of the Department of Agrarian Reforms and Department of Environment and Natural Resources,” Gatchalian added.
