The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) has turned over a set of Project Epanaw’s three Coffee Table Books (CTBs) to the Philippine Ambassador to the United States of America (USA).

Philippine Ambassador, His Excellency Jose Manuel “Babe” del Gallego Romualdez, received the books last December 3, 2021 at the Embassy of the Philippines in Washington, D.C. located at Bataan Street corner 1600 Massachusetts Avenue, New Washington (NW), USA.

The turnover is in line with NCIP’s thrust to promote the Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) of the Philippines.

These CTBs, a labor of love of undertaking of the NCIP, were produced during the pandemic by NCIP personnel from central, regional, and field offices and the ICCs/IPs which was launched last March 14, 2021, a year after the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the Philippines.

Project Epanaw seeks to pay tribute and memorialize the identities and rituals of the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) as well as to highlight the importance of protecting their ancestral domains. The first CTB, “Pagkilala” (Recognize), showcases the profiles of the ICCs/IPs. The second CTB, “Paggalang” (Respect), features festivals and rituals that the ICCs/IPs practice in relation to important events such as birth and death, agricultural cycle, and the sacred and profane. While the third CTB, “Pagtaguyod” (Promote), contains tourism destinations, protected areas, critical infrastructures, and natural resources in ancestral domains.

The NCIP has partnered with the Tourism Promotions Board of the Department of Tourism for the research and publication of Project Epanaw which had already been distributed widely all over the Philippines particularly to NCIP employees, Indigenous Mandatory Representatives, national government agencies, and other stakeholders.

During the turnover, Romualdez expresses his gratitude to the NCIP for the CTBs which will surely be put on view at the Embassy. He further hopes for more engagement and partnership in assisting the consulate in its thrust to promote awareness on Philippine culture to the world. He also mentioned that he has already partnered with the IPs in the Philippines through the Fernbank Museum’s “Reflection of Culture” exhibition in partnership with the Filipino community in Atlanta, Georgia, USA through Galing Foundation, Inc.

Romualdez likewise congratulated the NCIP, Secretary Allen Capuyan, and all those responsible behind the great work which would be very useful to the Embassy and other consulates in the United States, adding that it will surely help the 4.5 million American-Filipinos understand the IPs’ culture and their ancestral domains.

Moreover, the NCIP and the Embassy committed to expand their support for each other’s mandates to promote the IPs of the Philippines, being the first people of the country, worthy of recognition as the foundation of Philippine culture.

The NCIP is the primary agency of the Philippine government mandated to formulate and implement policies, plans, and programs to recognize, respect, promote, and protect the rights and wellbeing of the ICCs/IPs. It aims to empower and capacitate the IPs by introducing them and their 36 Specific Rights under the four Bundles of Rights to the international community through Project Epanaw’s 3 CTBs. (PR)