Better data can lead to better decisions for communities.
This was at the heart of a coordination meeting held September 21, 2026 at the MinSU Calapan Campus as the Pampamayanang Mangyan Ugnayan, Inc. (PMUI) brought together the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) MIMAROPA, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and Mindoro State University (MinSU) to strengthen collaboration on data, research and development initiatives for Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs).
The meeting brought together institutions with different mandates but a shared goal: to ensure that data about Indigenous communities are accurate, meaningful and useful in shaping programs that respond to their actual needs.
PMUI was spearheaded by Ms. Juvelyn M. Gumal-in, while representing MinSU were Mr. Leonel C. Mendoza, OIC-Vice President for Research, Innovation, Technology and Extension, and Dr. Franie M. Afable, MinSU Calapan Campus Executive Director.
Discussions centered on how the partner institutions can work together in generating and validating data, conducting research and analysis, building capacities, engaging communities, and supporting evidence-based planning.
The participants also emphasized the importance of reliable, disaggregated and culturally responsive data in understanding the realities of Indigenous communities - from development gaps to access to basic services.
Each participating agency committed to contribute within its respective mandate, strengthening data generation, research, capacity building, community engagement, and evidence-based planning toward more responsive development initiatives for ICCs/IPs.
For MinSU, the collaboration strengthens the University's role in bringing research, knowledge and community engagement closer to development planning.
More than gathering numbers, the initiative seeks to make data reflect the people and communities behind them - and help ensure that development decisions are informed by evidence and grounded in their lived realities.
The collaboration also supports the broader vision of strengthening MIMAROPA as a hub for Indigenous Peoples’ data, knowledge, research and development practice, through closer cooperation among government, academe, civil society and Indigenous Peoples’ organizations. (jdtdc)
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