DIPOLOG CITY, Philippines – The provincial government of Zamboanga del Norte garnered anew the prestigious “Galing Pook Foundation Award” for 2011 that was presented by President Aquino in appropriate rites in Malacañang, Manila, over the weekend.

It duplicated its feat in 2010 when its program, the “Hillylands Green Rehabilitation and Livelihood Program (Hi-Green),” won a similar prize from the institution that recognizes innovation and excellence in local governance.

The 2011 national award was received by Zamboanga del Norte Governor Rolando E. Yebes who identified the winning program of the local government unit (LGU) as “Empowering the Subanen People in the province of Zamboanga del Norte.”

Yebes describes the Subanen – which means “river dwellers” who now number some 390,000 – as the “Lumads” of the province that has an estimated total population of 957,320.

The program, he said, was an execution of Republic Act (RA) 7160 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) through the creation on February 26, 2008, by the provincial governor’s office of the Provincial Indigenous Peoples Coordinating Unit (PIPCU) tasked to promote the welfare of the Subanen people, and to empower them economically, socially, and politically.

Starting with an initial P500,000 budget, the program’s allocation was increased to P1,200,000 in 2009, then rose to P1,500,000 in 2010, and jumped to P3,075,000 in 2011, Yebes said, adding that the program, ably managed by PIPCU chief Cristina L. Andus, a Subanen herself, has conducted various programs, projects, and activities (PPAs) that immensely benefited the Lumad community.

Yebes listed some of these PPAs as the Kasalan ng Bayan, free registration of marriages and live births of children, livelihood enterprises like the Documentation of Subanen Culture, Customs, and Traditions, Arts and Music, and Formally organizing the Subanen people in the barangays (villages) to facilitate access to government services.

He explained that the “Kasalan ng Bayan” that adheres to Subanen customs and traditions on marriage rites, seeks to formalize the relationship of common-law couples for their own benefit and their children’s.

Free registration of solemnized marriages, and the live births of their children with the local Civil Registrar’s Office up to the National Statistics Office (NSO), Yebes said that this provides Subanen people with legal documentation, legal, and official identifies that are useful when, among other things, accessing government services in the areas of education, employment, and hospital services.

He noted that, to date, a total of 2,501 common-law couples have been formally married under the “Kasalan” program even as a total of 1,552 live births have been registered with the various municipal civil registry offices up to the NSO.

Yebes said the PIPCU, in collaboration with the offices of the provincial agriculturist, veterinarian, and Technology and Livelihood Development Center, has facilitated the introduction of livelihood technology transfer, farm inputs and skills training to Lumad farmers, thus, increasing their income from various agricultural endeavors.

Also, the spirit of “pahina” or “bayanihan” in the implementation of PPAs has been adopted as strategy among the Subanen people, even as the provincial government fully recognized the significant role played by Lumad leaders called Timuay Labis, Timuay, or Saliling.

Eddie G. Dorotan, executive director of the Galing Pook Foundation that was jointly established in 1993 by the Local Government Academy of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and Ford Foundation, said the 2011 Foundation version received 137 entries nationwide – 55 from Luzon, 33 from the Visayas, and 49 from Mindanao – with nine other LGUs winning awards in separate categories.