TAO-Pilipinas

PRIVILEGE SPEECH OF IFUGAO REP. TEDDY BRAWNER BAGUILAT
House of Representatives
06 June 2010

I would like to address you today on the various violations to the civil and political and collective rights my fellow indigenous peoples in the country brought to the attention of my committee. Majority of the said cases that we investigated involves irregularities in the implementation of the FPIC requirement of many mining applications and the adverse impacts of mining to indigenous communities.

Through our strong struggle to defend our lands, we have survived the colonial rule of the Spaniards and the Japanese. But our communities have continuously been subjected to development aggression and oppressive policies that left us disenfranchised and dispossessed of our lands to which our life is rooted in. This is evidenced by the fact that indigenous communities are essentially still at the fringes of society economically, socially and politically.

In the history of our country, congress has only recently acknowledged and recognized indigenous peoples rights with the passage of RA 8371 the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997. The government also voted in favor of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in September 2007. But even with the IPRA and the UNDRIP, our survival as indigenous peoples is all the more threatened and violated at present because of the relentless pursuit of corporations and the government for access and control over our lands, territories and resources.

At present, the government’s policy on mineral resources and its program on mining in particular is one of the biggest threats to peace and development in indigenous peoples territories. The government’s obsession for “mining at all costs” stems from the perpetuation of PGMA Executive Order 270-A issued on January 2004 which provided for guiding principles for the revitalization of the mining industry. This EO has led government agencies to violate the indigenous peoples right to Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) recognized in the IPRA but undermined by none other than the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) with their issuance and implementation of the 2006 NCIP Guidelines on Free, Prior and Informed Consent which has been criticized by indigenous peoples leaders and their support groups as more favorable to mining corporations and violative of the right to self determination of indigenous peoples. Continue Reading »

TAO-Pilipinas, Inc. opens the Call for Sponsorship/Donation to all private, business, and commercial institutions that are interested to partner and/or support non-profit initiatives toward sustainable human settlements development as an extension of their drive towards socially responsive corporate practice.

TAO-Pilipinas (Technical Assistance Organization), Inc. is a women-led, non-profit, non-government organization of technical professionals working in the field of architecture, engineering, environmental planning and social development. With a vision of sustainable human settlements development, TAO-Pilipinas, Inc. extends technical assistance to organized poor communities. Through its four programs, TAO extends technical services in physical planning and design, capability-building, research and information dissemination and by networking with other sectors to source manpower, financial and material resources to address human settlements-related needs. For more information about our programs and projects please visit www.tao-pilipinas.org.

As we celebrate our 10th Anniversary this August 20th, TAO plans a series of activities that will sum-up its 10 years in service and partnership with organized poor communities and NGOs in the housing sector. The celebration entitled “Sampung TAO(n) na po kami: Tuloy ang Serbisyo at Saya.”, will kick-off with a Photo Exhibit – a documentation of TAO projects showing high quality, expert-selected photographs of events, people and places; and a Product Exhibit and sale showcasing products (organic vegetables and handicrafts) produced by TAO partner communities and NGOs. The event will culminate with the launching of ten (10) publications authored by the women behind TAO-Pilipinas, Inc. and ten (10) lectures.
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TAO-Pilipinas is looking for volunteers, preferably a group of civil engineering or architecture students who represent a university-based student organization, to work with us on the Shelter Improvement Schemes for a community in Tangos, Navotas. The project is one of the ACCA-funded small upgrading projects that TAO facilitates. What will be done by the YP Volunteer Group includes ocular assessment of houses identified for repair, interview with household members, and development of schemes for house repair with cost estimates. If your group is interested to work on this project, please email Arch. Ge Matabang .

cover of Beyond Shelter book

An essay by TAO-Pilipinas Executive Director Arlene Lusterio is one of the featured articles in a new publication by Metropolis Books, “Beyond Shelter (Architecture and Human Dignity)”. The book, edited by Marie J. Aquilino, is a compilation of essays from design professionals working in disaster-stricken areas around the world.  Arch. Lusterio’s contribution is entitled “Sustainable Communities: Avoiding Disaster in the Informal City”.

The book is due to be released in the US by May 31, 2011 and will be distributed outside the US by Thames and Hudson. Information about the forthcoming book is available online at this link.

Twenty-three technical professionals from Asia and Africa convened in Manila last February 14-25, 2011 for the continuation of the SIDA-funded Shelter Design and Development (SDD) Advanced International Training Programme that started last autumn 2010 in Sweden. The SDD course is a six-month training programme conducted twice a year in spring and autumn by HDM Lund University. Each course starts with a 3-week program in Lund, Sweden and culminates in the final 2-weeks of the course period in either Africa (spring course) or Asia (autumn course) with a presentation of the proposal for change by each participant.

The SDD course aims to equip professionals working in shelter design and development with deeper knowledge and wider perspectives to enable them to develop long-term solutions to fight poverty through effective capacity and institutional development. The phase in Manila enabled the participants to gain insights on how shelter design and development is done in the Philippines through the lectures from government shelter agencies and practitioners, and the study visits of high, middle to low-income housing projects, including resettlement sites.

Since it opened in 2006, around 50 architects, engineers, and other professionals in the Philippines has benefitted from the training programme. TAO-Pilipinas has been a partner of the SDD programme in Asia since 2007, locally organizing the course in close coordination with the Housing Development and Management department of Lund University under its Director, Johnny Astrand. Last February’s autumn continuation phase in Manila also marked the closing of the SDD programme’s 5-year contract period with SIDA.