Photo Release

On IPs' intellectual property rights: Sen. Imee Marcos presides over the virtual hearing of the Committee on Cultural Communities Wednesday, November 3, 2021, on several issues concerning indigenous cultural communities such as the community rights of indigenous peoples (IPs). Noting that the country’s IP law is inadequate to address the problem of community on copyright or intellectual rights, Marcos was prompted to file Senate Resolution No. 841 directing the committee to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the attempt to commercialize the Butbut Kalinga traditional tattoo known as ‘batok’ without prior informed consent of the Butbut tribe. Likewise, Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. filed Senate Bill No. (SBN) 2178 or An Act Promoting and Safeguarding Community Intellectual Rights (CIR) of Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples. Marcos said concerned government agencies, such as the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), should weigh in on these issues since the NCIP and the local government units concerned “have no mechanisms to avoid these issues and thereafter to redress grievances on the part of our IPs.” (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)