Indigenous People's Center for Development Services, Inc. (IPCDS)

The Indigenous People's Center for Development Services (IPCDS) works for the rights and welfare of Indigenous Peoples (IP) in the Philippines. It believes in a society where Indigenous Peoples have equal access and opportunity to control and use local resources as a viable source of livelihood; live with abundance and harmony without prejudices and animosities, with a shared consciousness to respect life, culture and traditions; and have the right to decide on matters affecting their lives. The Center upholds a high level of consciousness and value of protecting and preserving the environment for the succeeding generation. It was set up in 2002 with the support of Indigenous People's advocates.

The promulgation of the Indigenous People's Rights Act (IPRA) in 1997 brought a window of opportunity and challenge to the indigenous peoples struggling for peace and development in their territories in Mindanao. In 1999, a Mindanao-wide inter-tribal conference was launched in Compostela Valley Province as an effort to unite the IPs in Mindanao. One of the major resolutions of the conference was to set up an IP institution that could cater services in fast-tracking ancestral domain claims as well as enhancing the productivity of awarded claims. This led to the formation of the IPCDS.

IPCDS believes in the innate ability of Indigenous Peoples to chart their own future by giving them the opportunity to acquire and control their ancestral land and making resources a viable source of livelihood. This will help build peace and development at the micro-level. IPCDS works to facilitate the resource and tenure improvement of farmers, to make natural resources a viable and sustainable source of livelihood, and to provide an environment of partnership among men, women and children in the realm of managing resources in rural communities .

Key goals

To build the capacity of Indigenous Peoples for a logical change of their resource tenure situation in the context of social justice and to make these resources a viable source of livelihood.
To enhance food security in targeted IP communities.
To encourage the participation and contribution of men, women and children as partners in community development.
To strengthen community-oriented values and critical awareness to protect, preserve and enrich the environment.

Key projects

Resource Tenure Improvement Program (RTIP): focused on fast-tracking the consummation of ancestral domain claims with an emphasis on building the capacity of IPs in asserting their rights as embodies in the IPRA law.
IP centered Literacy and Numeracy Program (LNP): focused on providing basic education to out-of-school youth as well as adults in far-flung IP communities.
Health and Nutrition Program (HNP): focused on facilitating the training of local health workers and increasing access to medicines and health facilities.
Conflict Management and Peace Program (CMPP): focused on the conflict resolution of inter-tribal conflicts. The program is designed to establish a 'space for peace' within the ancestral domain claim. The program facilitates the participation of all peace actors that are instrumental in promoting the culture of peace in IP communities.