According to the data from the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP), there are more than 110 ethno-linguistic groups in the Philippines, with an estimated ethnic population of 8 million 1 or 10% of the country’s 80 million people. Half of them are in Mindanao (48.29%) and the other half in Luzon (49.47%), with a few 2.24% scattered across the different Visayas islands.
o this day, they still practice a lifestyle that flourished before Islamic and Spanish contact. Their arts and culture are the last remnants of a rich part of Philippine history. Hence, these indigenous communities are an important and integral part of the Filipino Identity.
|Source Institution||Japan International Cooperation Agency|
|Place of Publication||Manila|
|Original Publication Date||August 1, 2008|