Press Release
DOE Sec. Cusi Awarded NCIP 2020 IP Advocate and Champion for MIMAROPA
TAGUIG CITY – In celebration of Indigenous People’s Month and the 23rd year of the Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) Rights Act of 1997, Energy Secretary and Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) of Region IV-B, MIMAROPA (Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan) Alfonso G. Cusi was awarded yesterday (14 October) by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) as 2020 IP Advocate and Champion for the MIMAROPA region.
During the brief ceremony held at the Department of Energy (DOE), NCIP Regional Director Roberto L. Almonte presented the award to Secretary Cusi in recognition of the Energy Chief’s unwavering support to the region’s Indigenous Cultural Communities/IPs.
“It is a great honor to receive this award from the NCIP. All the work we have been doing is in fulfillment of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s call for lasting peace throughout our nation. We need peace to effectively spur sustainable and inclusive development in the Philippines,” Secretary Cusi said.
Also present were DOE Undersecretary Alexander S. Lopez; CORDS MIMAROPA Technical Working Group Members Mr. Pacifico A. Avenido Jr., Mr. Rodolfo M. Magtibay, and Dr. Adrianna Mabanta; and Mr. Greg Gudito, who represented former Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr.