EU envoy sets visit to Cordillera in outreach effort

MANILA, Philippines—European Union (EU) ambassador Luc Véron will visit the Cordillera region this week to oversee EU development projects as part of a series of outreach activities to see realities on the ground.

Part of his tour from Oct. 20 to 22 will include courtesy visits to Baguio City Mayor and contact tracing czar Benjamin Magalong and Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan, the EU said in a statement.

He will also engage indigenous people’s champions from different tribes in the Cordilleras. The EU touts its “Indigenous Peoples Champions from the Philippines” project with a grant of P14 million which aims to support indigenous peoples in the Bangsamoro and Cordillera.

The project is being implemented by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, a Sweden-based international organization, in partnership with a Philippine NGO, Institute for Autonomy and Governance, Inc.

Véron will also turn over disaster and climate risk modules and inclusive early warning kits to civil society organizations and local government officials from Itogon, Benguet. This is part of the EMPOWER project, which aims to strengthen the resilience of high-risk communities in disaster and climate risk governance in the municipalities of Itogon and Pinukpuk.

The project, which is being implemented by the Adventist and Relief Agency and Humanity and Inclusion, started in January 2020 and covers 23 barangays from Pinukpuk and 9 barangays from Itogon with a grant of P22 million.

The ambassador will also meet with officials from Saint Louis University and the University of the Cordilleras, grantees of capacity-building EU Erasmus+ projects.

TSB