Memorandum of Agreement between the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

This MOA is an inter-agency agreement defining the mutual and agency-specific roles and responsibilities of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), as well as the institutional arrangements for collaboration and partnership between the parties, in the implementation of the PROGRAM in municipalities with Indigenous Peoples' communities.
Both the NCIP and DSWD recognize the importance of engaging indigenous peoples in a meaningful development process where there is full recognition of their capacity to strengthen their own economic, social, and political systems and institutions, and maintain and develop their own culture and traditions that are distinct from those of the mainstream society. The DSWD is mandated to implement programs, projects and providing services that will alleviate poverty and empower disadvantaged individuals, families, and communities seeking an improved quality of life. The arrangements stipulated in this agreement shall apply to partnership collaboration by and between the NCIP and the DSWD KC-NCDDP national offices, and their respective regional and/or field offices, in regions where Ancestral Domains of Indigenous People overlap with KCNCDDP target municipalities. Partnership collaboration between NCIP and DSWD shall focus on three (3) key objectives: (i) ensure culture sensitive facilitation of KC-NCDDP in IP areas; (ii) validate free and prior informed consent of IP communities over subprojects to be implemented in, or have an impact on IP communities, and; (iii) establish and operationalize institutional partnership and coordination mechanisms at the national and regional/field office level, to ensure objectives (i) and (ii) are attained.