Nueva Vizcaya hosts 1st Gaddang congress
by Ben Moses Ebreo
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya (November 18) -- The province is hosting this year's first Gaddang congress that gathers member tribes from the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Isabela and Quirino from November 18-20 at the provincial capitol's Florence Nightingale Building here.
Councilor Roland Carub and founder of the Gaddang Young Professionals Association of the Philippines (GYPAP) and the Gaddang Youth Volunteers Association (GYVA) said the congress aims to orient and increase the awareness of the Gaddang tribe on their rights under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA).
It will also serve as a venue in organizing the tribe into a strong organization for development in their respective communities.
The three-day congress which carries the theme: Preserving the Past, Empowering the Present, Visioning the Future, presents the situationer of indigenous cultural communities(ICCs) and indigenous peoples (IPs) in the country.
Other discussion during the congress will focus on the role of ICCs and IPs in development under the cloak of a recognized, empowered and respected organization, their rights on ancestral domain, historical roots, preservation of the Gaddang community through connectivity and visioning, planning workshop.
The congress is supported by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples(NCIP) of Cagayan Valley and Central Office, provincial government of Nueva Vizcaya and municipal local governments. (PIA NVizcaya) [top]
