Palace vows protection for IPs

THE government will continue to provide protection to the country’s indigenous peoples (IP), including the Lumads in Mindanao, with or without international agencies looking after them, Malacañang said on Sunday.

In an interview over state-run Radyo ng Bayan, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said there are government agencies tasked to ensure the welfare of IPs and that international organizations such as the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) are merely a “bonus” to the sector.