ALMOST 1,000 indigenious people (IP) who had been stranded in Metro Manila when the lockdown to control the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was imposed, have been brought back to their homes by the government.

In a Laging Handa briefing on Friday, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Commissioner Jennifer Pia Sibug-Las said they created a special task force to help IPs get back home after they had been stranded in Metro Manila and nearby provinces for more than two months due to the strict lockdown.

Called the “Oplan Bayanihan for Stranded IPs,” Ms. Sibug-Las said, “We already have located 3,121 stranded IPs here in Metro Manila.”

“Ang nasi-serve pa lang po namin of the moment is 937, so mayroon pa kaming 2,184 na un-served stranded IPs (We served 937 of them at the moment, so we still have 2,184 left who are still stranded),” she added.

The program aims to help not only stranded IPs in Metro Manila go home to their localities but also assist those who have been displaced from their work by giving them cash aid and food packs through the Department of Social Welfare and Development. — Gillian M. Cortez

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