THE NATIONAL Commission on Indigenous Peoples XI (NCIP) will open its very first IP Teen Center in Barangay Malabog, Paquibato City, soon to cater to the youth in tribal communities.
Estelito Ocampo, IP youth focal person of NCIP XI, said the new center will also feature a facility for mental health, on top of its primary mandate of providing a holistic space for indigenous cultural communities to rejuvenate the culture of the IP youth in their respective tribes.
The center can accommodate around 2,000 visitors.
During an interview, Ocampo hopes that level one of the center will be completed by January 2026.
Ocampo highlighted that more than 50% of the land in Region XI is within the ancestral domain, and these IP youths will eventually become future stewards to manage their lands.
He shared that there are cases of suicide, rape, and teenage pregnancy in the ancestral domain, although he couldn’t give any figures.
Primary government agency partners involved in the creation of the center are the Commission on Population and Development, Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
