Former Senator and Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda called for the protection of the Indigenous Peoples’ (IPs) weaves and traditional cultural heritage after reports of foreign counterfeit products, bearing Cordillera weave patterns, are distributed in the local market.

Imported counterfeit products are greatly affecting small businesses in the Cordillera region.

“This is not just market competition. The imports are undercutting out artisans and weavers to the detriment of sustaining their culture and creative productivity,” said Legarda.

Legarda previously filed House Bill 7811 “An Act Safeguarding the Traditional Property Rights of Indigenous Peoples”.

The measure aims to create a comprehensive cultural archive that will organize and provide an inventory of all cultural properties from different Philippine ethnic tribes and mandates payments of royalties for using IPs cultural property.

“To prevent possible abuses or the exploitation of our cultural heritage, this bill hopes to fill the gaps and apply conventional forms of intellectual property, like copyright, royalty, and ownership,” Legarda said.

Furthermore, the former Senator emphasized the importance of ensuring legal protections and remedies to cultural appropriation supported by the government through a systematized registration which can be easily accessed by the indigenous peoples and communities.