The Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) Program under Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office Cordillera Administrative Region (DSWD FO CAR) completed thousands of subprojects between 2020 and 2024.
For four years, however, 628 of these community projects in the Cordillera Administrative Region were stuck in a compliance gap. Footpaths had been laid, water systems built, and community facilities put up, all being used daily by thousands of Filipinos. But each one was missing a required government certificate that would make them fully legal and compliant. Under Philippine law, projects built on or near indigenous ancestral lands need a certificate from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) before they are considered fully compliant. The paperwork had piled up, and neither agency involved could clear it on their own. Then in early 2025, DSWD CAR and NCIP worked through the problem, and found a way out.
The Main Challenge
The law, specifically the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997, says that communities must be properly consulted and must give their agreement before any project begins on their ancestral lands. It requires securing Free, Prior, and Informed Consent, or FPIC, to protect indigenous communities. To confirm it was done, NCIP issues one of two certificates: a Certificate of Precondition (CP) if FPIC was carried out, or a Certificate of Non-Overlap (CNO) if the project does not affect ancestral land at all. Without one of these, a project is not fully in the clear, even if it is already built and serving the community.
The challenge was structural. The KALAHI-CIDSS safeguards compliance function had grown beyond what one personnel could manage alongside other program responsibilities. At the same time, NCIP faced the very real challenge of validating ancestral domains across the Cordillera’s vast and difficult terrain, with limited staff and budget to do it. Year after year, the list of projects waiting for certificates grew longer.
Completing the certificates was necessary. It kept the Program on solid legal ground, protected projects from unnecessary risks, and ensured funding would continue without interruption. More importantly, it showed that the Government genuinely respects the rights of indigenous communities, not just in words, but in action. Taking care of the paperwork, even for projects already built, strengthened the trust that community-driven development depends on.
The Journey Begins
In February 2025, KALAHI-CIDSS Regional Project Management Office (RPMO) made the first move. They called a meeting with NCIP to understand the problem and find a practical way forward. The discussion revealed where the process had been getting stuck and opened the door for a bigger solution.
On 23 – 24 April 2025, both agencies met again during the 2nd Regional Inter-Agency Committee Meeting. This time, they came to a landmark agreement. For the 628 projects completed between 2020 and 2024, existing documents, specifically the Certificates of Completion and Acceptance (COCA) and the Turnover of Responsibility and Acceptance Certificates (TORAC), along with community consultation records and project plans, would be accepted as proof that communities had been properly consulted. No new fieldwork would be needed for the old projects. The documents were already there. They just needed to be officially recognized.
After the agreement, both sides moved quickly. KALAHI-CIDSS assigned a full-time Safeguards Focal Person, Ms. Grace M. Gambala, the first time that a role existed as a dedicated position. Among the tasks was to organize the documents, regularly follow up with NCIP in person, and make sure nothing fell through the cracks. Field Area Coordinating Teams (ACTs) were also asked to start sharing their work schedules with NCIP offices and to bring NCIP staff into community activities as they happened.
NCIP did the same on their end. They assigned an officer to handle all KALAHI-CIDSS matters, so there was always a clear point of contact. Their legal and provincial officers also formally recognized that the way KALAHI-CIDSS prepares and consults with communities already meets the core requirements of FPIC. This was a significant step. It meant that the two agencies’ processes were no longer seen as separate and competing, but as complementary.
The most meaningful outcome was a stronger partnership. NCIP moved beyond its traditional role and began working alongside KALAHI-CIDSS at the community level. Staff were now present from the start, making certification a natural part of the process, not an afterthought. This teamwork ensured that backlogs would no longer be an issue, keeping communities and projects on track from the very beginning.
A Breakthrough for IP Communities
By 30 December 2025, 100% of the required documents for all 628 subprojects had been completed and submitted, meeting the year-end target in full. More importantly, the changes put in place mean this kind of backlog is far less likely to happen again. A designated safeguards officer is now part of the KALAHI-CIDSS team. NCIP is embedded in the process from the start. Both agencies have a clear, agreed-upon way of working together, and the rights of Indigenous communities in the Cordillera are being protected through a faster, more transparent system.
This experience points to three things that made the difference. First, a designated person is essential to stay on top of important compliance work. Second, face-to-face dialogue works. Four years of emails and written follow-ups could not resolve what two meetings did in a matter of months. Third, helping the partner agency helps. By understanding the situation and helping where possible, challenges can be turned into a collaborative success.
Six hundred twenty-eight projects. Four years of waiting. Cleared in less than twelve months. Not through shortcuts, but because two agencies chose to stop working around the problem and start working through it together.
The people of Cordillera did not build those roads and halls to represent a paperwork gap. They built them because their communities needed them. When Government agencies work together, support one another, and keep the people they serve at the center of every decision, even long-standing problems can be solved, and solved in a way that makes things better for every community that comes after. #DSWD Field Office Cordillera Administrative Region, GRACE M. GAMBALA PDO III and APRIL ROSE D. NAVALTA, PDO II.
