Bicam adopts proposals protecting ‘lumad’ rights in draft BBL

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said the bicameral conference committee adopted all proposals protecting the rights of the indigenous peoples (IPs), or “lumad,” in the envisioned Bangsamoro region.

“We kept extensive IP rights in the BBL [Bangsamoro Basic Law],” Zubiri told reporters.

Asked if the Senate and House panels agreed to include the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act in the draft BBL, he said: “We retained all the Loren Legarda amendments,” he said, noting Senator Legarda’s proposals on IP rights.

On Monday, IP leaders made an appeal to Congress not to forget them as the “minorities within the minority” in the envisioned Bangsamoro region.—DJ YAP