“Together we stand, divided we fall. This project supports our production of heirloom rice so let us be one in thoughts and in words and give our support and acceptance as one cooperative.”

This was how Laurence Farong-ey, Indigenous Peoples Mandatory (IPM) representative and a member of the Anabel-Sadanga Multi-purpose Cooperative, endorsed the acceptance of their subproject proposal on Heirloom rice to his fellow members during a consultation held in Sadanga, Mt. Province on August 24, 2018.

“As part of the implementation procedures of the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), consultations should be conducted to ensure that proposed subprojects are viable, environmentally and socially sound, and sustainable,” said Rigi May Copatan of the Social and Environmental Safeguards (SES) unit of the PRDP Regional Project Coordination Office – CAR (RPCO-CAR).

Copatan added that the members of the cooperative as subproject beneficiaries should be informed about their proposal, the benefits they will receive from the cooperative through the subproject, and the equipment they are requesting among others. They should be informed of their rights to participate in changing the subproject design or business proposal and their rights to compensation if any of their properties will be affected.

The cooperative members were also informed of their right to Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC). In this regard, representatives from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) discussed their rights on the introduction and implementation of projects, activities and other undertakings that will affect them and their ancestral domains to ensure their economic, social and cultural well-being.

“Pamakada isnan umili” or to ask permission from the community according to Ana Marie Magwa of NCIP-Mt. Province is the objective of the FPIC process stressing that they should know the project, the mechanisms of the project, and their roles as beneficiaries of the project.

Various questions were asked by the NCIP to the cooperative members to validate their acceptance of the subproject proposal. In response, the members confirmed their interest and support to the implementation of their subproject proposal on Heirloom Rice Production, Processing and Marketing Enterprise.

The SES unit of the PRDP are mobilized to conduct a series of consultation and to be involved in the process of screening, preparation, review and approval of proposed infrastructure and enterprise subprojects in the provinces.### Elvy S. Taquio (DA-PRDP RPCO-CAR InfoACE Unit)