Calinog IP Group Opposes Ex-Mayor’s NCIP Appointment

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

An Indigenous Peoples organization in Calinog, Iloilo, has asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to review the appointment of former town mayor Alex Alcarde Centena as commissioner of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

In a letter to the Office of the President, the Calinog Indigenous Peoples Organization appealed for a review of Centena’s May 22 appointment, citing his alleged lack of Indigenous identity and qualifications.

Marcos appointed Centena as NCIP commissioner representing island groups, including the regions of Mindoro, Palawan, Romblon, Panay, and the rest of the Visayas.

The NCIP offices in Western and Eastern Visayas publicly welcomed the appointment.

However, CIPO head Renato Casinao, who also serves as Panay Cluster head for the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, asserted that Centena is not a member of any recognized Indigenous Peoples or Indigenous Cultural Communities and does not hold a Certificate of Confirmation.

The Certificate of Confirmation is a legal requirement under Republic Act 8371, or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997, for appointments to the NCIP.

“We implore you (Marcos Jr.) to ensure that any future appointment to such a vital position truly embodies the spirit and intent of the IPRA law,” Casinao said.

He warned that Centena’s appointment could erode legal and cultural safeguards designed to protect Indigenous representation in government.

“We fear that formalizing this appointment would set a dangerous precedent and undermine the very essence of our rights as enshrined in the IPRA law,” he added.

Casinao emphasized that Indigenous Peoples should be represented by individuals who are genuinely rooted in their communities and cultures.

He cited Section 41 of the IPRA, which outlines the qualifications, tenure, and compensation of the NCIP chairperson and six commissioners.

The law requires that commissioners must be natural-born Filipino citizens and bona fide members of Indigenous Cultural Communities or Indigenous Peoples.

Even if Centena submitted a certification from a local elder, Casinao argued this does not validate his identity as an Indigenous person.

He claimed Centena is “widely known in the community not to be a member of ICCs or IPs.”

Centena served as mayor of Calinog from 2013 to 2019 and vice mayor from 2019 to 2022.