DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 27 February)—A shelter valued at P42 million will be provided for the watchers and runners of indigenous people (IP) and Muslim patients at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) compound.
The allocation for a 200 sq.m. shelter was contained in an ordinance approved by the Sangguniang Panlungsod Tuesday.
The shelter will serve the 11 main tribes living in the city, namely, Klata, Ata, Matigsalug, Obu-Manuvu, Tagabawa, Tausug, Iranun, Kagan, Sama, Maranao, and Maguindanao, collectively known as KAMOTT-IKASAMMA.
The 70-bed shelter will also be named after KAMOTT-IKASAMMA.
The proponent of the ordinance, Councilor Rodolfo Mande, a Matigsalug who is the Indigenous People’s Mandatory Representative (IPMR), said the funding was already approved on December 2, 2023 during the deliberation of the city budget for 2024.
The construction will be under the city’s Annual Development Fund, which is for this year is P2.41 billion.
“I am grateful that this ordinance has been approved as the tribes here in Davao have prayed so long for this. The past years, they have been suffering without shelter, without a kitchen, sleeping on the stairs while waiting for consultations and other errands in SPMC,” Mande told reporters Tuesday.
He clarified that the shelter will not be exclusive for the 11 tribes in the city, rather, it should accommodate those from other tribes outside Davao City. “We will accommodate them by checking if there are still available slots and let them in if there is,” Mande said.
Aside from shelter, Mande said he is also eyeing to put up a one-stop shop catering to healthcare services and food intervention for the tribes, with representatives from various city and national agencies in one place, like that of the City Mayor’s Office, the Indigenous People Mandatory Representative’s office, City Social Welfare and Development Office, Philippine Statistics Authority, and Local Civil Registrar. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)